Nothing says soup in the winter time, like a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup. It was one of my childhood favorites and is one of my kids’ favorites as well. There are so many different ways to achieve a basic Chicken soup, so I will give you what I used recently and offer some variations. Chicken soup is great when you are under the weather or just craving something warm on a cold winter night! While there are often beneficial ingredients to many soups, quality meat cannot be overlooked. Finding a good local source or at least organically raised meat is essential to the quality of any meat-based meal. The quality of the ingredients you put in your dishes contributes to the quality of the nutrients your body receives.
I often use leftover chicken from a chicken dinner. If we have a whole chicken roasted for dinner one evening, I typically follow up with chicken soup later in the week. Depending on how much I have to work with, I’ll also use the bones for making broth, but we will dive into that another day:). If you have chicken meat left over, great! If not I have used a couple chicken legs and removed meat from the bone after its cooked. Either way, it should still keep you under 30 minutes in meal making. Make more to allow for leftovers for lunch or even another dinner:)
I
Chicken Soup
- 2 tbs of olive oil or coconut oil
- chicken meat (meat from whole chicken, chicken legs, or whatever you have)
- 3-4 large carrots
- 3-4 celery stalks or celeriac if available
- large onion
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 -1 tsp of oregano, thyme, and basil
- 1-2 tsp of salt and pepper or to taste
- 96 to 128 oz. of chicken broth
- Noodles (optional). I use either whole wheat or a gluten free noodle
Use organic ingredients whenever possible
Heat oil in large pot. Add chopped onions and garlic. If using raw chicken place in pot.
Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and thyme.
Chop carrots and celery and add to your pot.
I usually let this simmer covered for a few minutes. Sometimes adding a little broth to prevent burning. Add the rest of broth and let it come to a slow boil. (If you have bone broth, use it! This will add another level of nutrients to your yummy soup) Use more or less depending on how brothy you like your soup. Once meat has had time to cook, roughly ten minutes, bring chicken out of pot and allow to cool enough to handle. If you are using meat from leftover chicken you will skip this step and add your noodles if using. If you went the raw chicken route, pull meat off bones after it has cooled enough to handle. Toss meat back into your soup and use bones to make a batch of bone broth:) or discard. Add noodles if desired and allow to cook, roughly 8 minutes. Salt and pepper may need to be added to fit your taste. I usually end up adding more salt.
Pair with a grilled cheese, PBJ, warm bread or a nice salad. Whatever fits your fancy. Enjoy