Monday, February 13, 2012

Easy Chicken Soup

It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe, and what better time to write about chicken soup than cold and flu season.  Both Nathan and T.J. came down with colds this weekend, and that's the only time I ever make this easy chicken soup.  And when I say easy, I mean e-a-s-y.  Onion, carrots, celery, two chicken breasts, thin noodles and a packet of soup starter.

Now, before you dog me on the packaged ingredient for this meal, know this: I've never boiled my own chicken carcass to make stock because I don't have the time and I just don't have the time. Plus, Mrs. Grass has already done the hard work for me.  Her base tastes really good, especially when I bulk it up with veggies, chicken, more noodles and some butter and olive oil.


Also know this: I serve it with homemade buttermilk biscuits. You might think it's rather demented to make soup from a packet and bake my own biscuits form scratch.  But they only take 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake, so they're easy to throw together while the soup simmers away on the stovetop.  I use Alton Brown's recipe for Southern Biscuits.


I estimate that the whole meal takes under 45 minutes to make.

Here goes:

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 onion
4 carrots
3-4 stalks celery
2 chicken breasts
1 packet Wyler's Mrs. Grass Homestyle CHicken Noodle Soup mix
thin noodles  
  • In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt 1T butter and warm 1T olive oil.
     
  • Reduce heat to medium and add diced onion and sliced carrots and celery. Cook 10-15 minutes until beginning to turn tender. While veggies cook, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Note: I cut my chicken when it's only partially thawed; it's so much easier to cut this way.
     
  • Add remaining 1T butter and 1T olive oil to pan and then add chicken. Cook until chicken is done.
     
  • Add 8 cups of water and the soup packet.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.
     
  • Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook your thin noodles as per package instructions.
     
  • Combine soup and noodles in individual serving bowls.  Store leftover soup and noodles separetely, unless freezing.

Enjoy with warm buttermilk biscuits slathered in butter.

1 comment:

  1. No judgment on your soup.....just wanted to mention I have started buying whole little chickens and stick them in the crockpot overnight and it gives a great broth and tender meat for soup....in case someday you want to make your soup completely from scratch....but your soup looks very tasty! :)

    ReplyDelete

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