In the Northern Hemisphere, spring is underway, and summer is just around the corner (which means it’s early fall for my readers in the Southern Hemisphere, right?). Here in Tennessee, the weather is slowly warming up, but our evenings are cool, which means that soup is still an appropriate dinner food. Mr. Handsome isn’t a huge fan of chicken noodle soup because he associates it with being sick. I, on the other hand, love it, but when I do cook it, I usually try to make sure there are some leftovers in the fridge for him.
Mr. Handsome was sure that after my labor and delivery, I would no longer have any desire to eat chicken soup. You can read more about it in my birth story posts, but I was only able to eat clear liquids for 30 hours, and plain chicken stock was one of the few things I could have. I ordered several bowls from the hospital kitchen while I was in labor, and we laughed because it came on a plastic tray with a fancy cover.
Honestly, I think I enjoy chicken soup even more now because I remember how starving I was while in labor and how that stock really hit the spot. And even though my delivery was really difficult (I recently read that drug-induced labor initiates much stronger contractions that are closer together than natural labor, which explains why I had insanely painful contractions with barely any breaks nine hours before my baby was born), I somehow look back on the whole experience with rose-covered glasses.
Now back to the soup. This recipe for chunky chicken noodle soup is from my childhood. It can be ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes if you use prepared chicken stock. If you buy a rotisserie chicken for dinner the night before, you can make your own chicken stock the next day by boiling the carcass and adding herbs, but this soup tastes great whether you use homemade or store-bought stock. If you really want an easy meal, buy an extra rotisserie chicken and use the meat from that one for the soup.
Chunky Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 3 cooked, skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 cup broad egg noodles I use multigrain
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 green onions thinly sliced for garnish
Instructions
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In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
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Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes or until softened.
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Add stock; bring to a boil
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Bring to a gentle boil, and add pre-cooked chicken chunks.
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Stir in the noodles. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.
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Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with onion, and serve with thick slices of bread.
Thank You for this recipe.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
They soup looks good. Know I want to make a bowl. I make soup for dinner alot I like in the midwest. I just buy the Lipton chicken noodle soup I put the leftovers in the fridge.
It’s true- the induced contractions are a million times worse than natural ones!
I love chicken noodle soup. Its my go to for soup on chilly nights. It seems our spring has sprung back to winter! We were having nice warm spring weather and now it’s windy and cold. My husband lit our fireplace last night so chicken noodle soup will make a return for dinner looks like it.
I also have a sweet anecdote about chicken noodle soup. On the morning of my wedding day, I was so nervous that I could hardly eat. My sister-in-law drove me to the hairdresser around 10 am and offered to buy me any food I wanted from the grocery store. Chicken noodle soup was the only food I thought I could stomach! The hairdresser ended up arriving an hour late (!!) so by the time I was done, I had no time for lunch and had to rush to the ceremony! As my new husband and I drove back alone from the ceremony to the reception house, elated to finally be man and wife, I started to feel queasy. It was from all the emotions but I also realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since that morning and it was almost 3pm!
As we arrived at the house, guests had already started gathering in the yard but I felt so ill that I had to lay down in a bedroom. At that moment, I remembered the cup of chicken noodle soup that my sweet sister-in-law had probably left in the fridge. My husband warmed it up for me and helped me eat it in bed. It literally felt like the best thing I ever ate! My cheeks got the color back and I felt ready to tackle the reception. I still remember that sweet moment of my husband feeding me chicken soup as one of the best memories from my wedding 🙂