Chicken -oops I forgot the noodle - Soup

DH is a little under the weather today.  He stayed home with us today, so we got to enjoy his sweet face, but it makes me realize how much I desperately appreciate his help around with the little one.  He's getting some kind of cold crud and he's been trying to keep his distance.  So, it's just been me and little man.  He sat in the kitchen in his high chair and helped me make the soup today as a matter of fact.  Maybe that's why I forgot the noodles!  Funny story: I didn't even realize I'd forgotten the noodles until I told my DH that I made "chicken noodle soup" for him. Oops.  Hold the noodle.  It was still better than the canned kind!



Chicken -oops I forgot the noodle - Soup
2 stalks celery, halved down the middle and diced small
1/3 white onion, diced small
1/4 pack of baby carrots, halved down the middle and diced small
1 rotisserie chicken breast, cubed
1 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water
dash salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes


I pulled my celery out of the fridge and it was floppy.  I guess a little {ok, probably a lot} past it's prime.  I've always wondered what to do with it.  I wish it came in half sizes because I rarely use the whole thing.  But I figured, it was just going to be sautéed anyway - so why not use it.  It worked fine!  By the time the soup was cooked in the end you couldn't tell it had started off floppy.  

Here's an idea of what size I used when I said "diced small".  When I'm reading a recipe for the first time, I'm always wondering what size they mean by diced.  Maybe if I would have gone to culinary school, I'd know.  So, for all those visual learners out there - here's the size I mean! ;)  

I sautéed the veges in 1/2 teaspoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil until tender - about 8 minutes on medium / medium low heat.  The onions had just started turning a translucent color, but the carrots still had a bite to them.

I had some stock I needed to use up in the fridge, so I poured it in a measuring cup to see how much I had.  It ended up being exactly 1 1/2 cups.  So I decided I would match it with the same amount of water.  3 cups of liquid was just enough for 2 bowls of soup.  I thought this was a good vege to broth ratio, so you might want to adjust accordingly depending on how many servings you want to make.

I diced up the chicken.  I bought one of those precooked chickens from the deli because I was going to make the BBQ Chicken Penne Melt tonight, but ended up making some plain soup instead.  The size of the onion gives you a good comparison for about how much chicken I used too.

I stirred everything together and added a dash of each: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.  Bring everything to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.  ** THIS is where you can add the pasta!  Any kind you like - linguine, spagetti, penne, rotini, egg noodles - you name it - and cook per directions. ** I ended up then leaving mine on low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 20 - 25 minutes because DH was taking a snooze.

The final product!  This was all the soup.  Just so you know how much it made - two soup mugs full. 

The verdict:

It was light and steamy - good for the sniffles, sore throat, and the "blahs" as I like to call them.  The carrots had just the right amount of bite to them - not mushy, but not crunchy either.  I added some cheese to the top and served with garlic toast made from Italian bread, spread with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder, toasted in the toaster oven.  Quick and easy.

Gotta run!  Babes is cranky.