17 January 2010

Who Needs Campbell's When You've Got Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup?

Well, Cliff is still under the weather with the flu.  His temperature fluctuates between normal, 100, and 103.4.  Cliff's appetite has not been quite what it is normally so I decided to make a good, soothing, homemade soup last night.
The last time I made this soup was back in the Christmas break of 2002 when my dad and I were stuck at home while my mom and sister were on a mission trip in Mexico with our church.  I was initially the sick one, then dad caught the sickness, so then I had to take care of us both.  I decided to try my hand at homemade Chicken Noodle and it came out pretty well. 

What can be more soothing than Chicken Noodle Soup?  Homemade for that matter, not the condensed kind from the can.  I'm talking really CHICKEN noodle soup, with hearty bits of chicken in them.  (Oh the dog was in heaven too! because she got a couple pieces of chicken and broth! Holly loved it.)

Well, I decided to go all Pioneer Woman style and attempt to take pictures through the process of making my soup, in the event it came out pretty good and I wanted to share the recipe.  The pictures are no where near my normal quality, as I decided to not use a flash and I was working in my dark kitchen, but oh well, here 'ya go.


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients:


-approx. 3 Chicken Breasts (I use Pilgrim's to support my hometown economy, but you can use whatever.)
-approx. 6-8 oz. of thin spaghetti
-1 can of chicken broth
-1 can of cream of chicken soup (okay, I guess you still need Campbell's)
-Salt
-Garlic Salt
-Mrs. Dash Table Blend (optional)

Here's the scene:

Boil your chicken in a pot.  Fill the soup pot, or in my case, my coated cast iron  pot where it just covers the chicken.  Boil your chicken until it is done, (the meat will all be white.)
-Pull your chicken out onto a cutting board (you'll slice it in a moment.)
In the meantime keep the heat going on your pot of water.
-Add to your water 1 can of chicken broth and 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup.



You might have to whisk the Cream of Chicken in order to get it to distribute evenly throughout the broth.


Now, slice and cut up your chicken, which is best to do while it's still hot. 
 

Next, allow your broth to come to a boil and then add your spaghetti and allow it to cook until it gets soft.  I always do the utensil break test, I see if I can break the noodle with my utensil against the side of the pot to see if it is soft enough.



After you add your spaghetti, now is the time you take to add your garlic salt and Mrs. Dash (if desired) to your broth.


 
This stuff is my Grandma's secret ingredient I guess you could say.  She likes to use it instead of salt in her green beans.

After your spaghetti is done cooking, add your chicken back in by the spoonfuls, or drop in, just don't spash yourself with the boiling liquid.



Stir it all up real nice!
Doesn't that look YUM!?


Let the pot stew for about 10-15 minutes, you'll want to turn your heat down to about 2-3 at this point.



Finally, serve it up to your loved ones! I added baby carrots on the side because Cliff generally doesn't like things added to his Chicken Noodle Soup, ESPECIALLY celery, because he hates celery, but he likes carrots on the side.

This makes enough to feed at least a family of four, and there is enough left over to stick in the fridge for a re-heat if you are feeding just two. 

Hope you enjoy!  

4 comments:

  1. All I can see are pictures but not the recipe. Looks delicious though. Can't see pictures on Ray's Pharmacy post. Hm-m-m-m.

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  2. Oh no! That is so strange, because on both of my computers I can see both the recipe and the photos, give me a day or so and I'll see if I can straighten out the problem. :) Thanks for the heads up!

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  3. Christina, I still cannot see any words on your posts and I'm dying to read about whatever crazy diet thing you are doing. What am I doing wrong?

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  4. Hey! I'm sorry you can't see the text. I've checked it on a few computers and I'm not having a problem and I don't think anyone else is. How are you reading the post?? through the internet or on Google Reader?? My text is white on a black background, so if for some reason the background is white for you, you might not be able to see the text because it is white.

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