finding comfort in a classic...

i don't know where you are, but if you're in the south, you are experiencing a very cold and very rainy march day. i don't know about you, but come march i am at least ready for warm air with my rain!

however, because i unfortunately don't deal the weather, i can at least come up with something simple yet comforting to eat while i study on this cold, icky rainy day!

are you ready?

chicken noodle soup

1 box of low sodium chicken broth (the larger size-- i like swanson brand)

1 pkg of dried noodles (i like to use egg noodles but you can use any type: fettucini, spaghetti, angel hair and linguine all work too)

1 bag of baby cut carrots (i get them already peeled)

1 cooked rotisserie chicken (i like to get these from publix in the deli section, they have a great "regular" seasoned chicken, and i can use the leftovers to make chicken salad!)

** Note: don't get annoyed with me, but i dont measure anything for this recipe. mainly because the quantities really don't matter, it just depends on how much soup you want to make. for this recipe, i am making the full quantity so that i can heat up leftovers in the microwave later. so you can use less if you like.

steps:
1. bring the chicken broth to a boil (on high) in a tall pot. because you are using low sodium, add about a tablespoon of salt.
2. while you are waiting, cut up your baby carrots (i cut the little baby ones in half or thirds so they are good sized chunks).
3. when the broth is boiling, add in your box of noodles. if you are using egg noodles like me, about 2/3 of those big bags is the equivalent.
4. while you wait for the noodles to cook (about 8-10 minutes, depending on the noodle. the box will tell you recommended cooking times), cut up pieces of the rotisserie chicken. you want this small enough to eat with a spoon. (there isn't much rocket science to this, i take the skin off of the chicken and then just start tearing and cutting up the pieces i tear off. no biggie!)
5. add the carrots before the noodles are cooked (you want them to have about 4-5 of cook time with the noodles.) i loooove the carrots so i use about half of the bag, but you can use less or even more if you like.
6. as the noodles are finished cooking, add in your chicken pieces. again, you can make this as chicken-y or as non chicken-y as you like.
7. lower the heat to a about medium high and let the soup cook with everything in it for about 2 minutes. (the chicken doesn't need time to actually cook, just to incorporate with the broth)


time breakdown:
bringing the broth to a boil: 3-5 minutes
cutting up carrots (while it's boiling): 2 minutes
noodle cooking: 8-10 minutes
cutting up the chicken: 5-6 minutes (while the noodles are cooking)
final incorporative cooking: 2 minutes


so curl up with your nice hot bowl of soup and stay warm and dry!! enjoy!