Chicken and Veggie Noodle Soup

Chicken and Veggie Noodle Soup

This soup may honestly be my favorite thing that I cook.  It’s simple, tasty, healthy, and makes the whole house smell good!  The best thing about this soup is that you can add or omit any veggies depending on what you like and what you have on hand.  I like to make a pot of this soup on Monday, and enjoy it for lunch for the rest of the week.  It’s so delicious and full of healthy vegetables!  Bailey loves it- happily and proudly eating turnips and kale.  Audrey, at 7 months old, will spend an hour chasing the yummy, soft vegetables and noodles around her high chair tray.  Another plus is that this soup freezes really well- just make sure you set aside a portion to freeze before adding the noodles.  Noodles turn to mush when frozen.

I always start by cutting up all of the vegetables and putting them into my heavy enameled cast iron pot.  My favorite combo includes:

• ·         4-5 stalks of celery
• ·         4-5 carrots
• ·         1 large onion
• ·         1-2 large turnips (I like to cut this into large chunks, otherwise it tends to disappear in the soup)
• ·         2 parsnips
• ·         Container of grape tomatoes (halved)
• ·         4-5 stalks of kale

The secret of this soup is to start by sauteéing the vegetables in about 2 TBS of REAL butter, and covering generously in Penzey’s Bicentennial Rub.  I also add Penzey’s Black and Red, Bouquet Garni, minced garlic, and salt.  I also add in a dash of dried sage and rosemary.  

When the vegetables are softening, I add a can of white meat chicken with the juice.  A few minutes later, I add a large box of Swanson Organic chicken broth.  Then, I simmer it for a few hours.  Shortly before serving the soup, I prepare the noodles by cooking them in a separate pot, draining, and then adding the cooked noodles to the soup. .  I’ve discovered that if I put the uncooked noodles directly into the soup, they suck up all the broth.  I use a variety of noodles, depending on what I have on hand.  My favorite, though, are the wide, homemade-style, egg noodles.  Sometimes, I do add more broth, or water and organic chicken “better than bouillon.”   Often, I add more broth the following day as the noodles continue to absorb the broth as the soup sits.