One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is probably one of my most favorite soups! I was craving something warm and comforting and it was perfect with the weather being so cold and rainy. It completely satisfied my craving and it was super easy clean up because it only required one pot! I know some of the best tasting chicken noodle soups are made with homemade stock but honestly with my husband being vegetarian, and it being so time consuming, this definitely did not make sense for me. But in no way did this chicken noodle soup disappoint!

Serves 4 fans

The Players:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 chicken tender or 1 chicken breast 
• 1 small onions diced 
• 1 carrot peeled and diced 
• 1 celery diced 
• 2 garlic cloves chopped small
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 springs of thyme, thyme leaves only 
• 1 quart of low sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 a chicken or veggie bouillon cube 
• 1 cup of wide egg noodles
• 3-4 tbs of finely chopped parsley
• Salt 
• Pepper

The Game Plan:

Place a medium sized pot on medium heat with olive oil in it. Meanwhile season the chicken with pepper on both sides. Place the chicken in the pot and cover. Let the chicken cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Once chicken is fully cooked take it out and let cool. Meanwhile place the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in the pot and saute in the left over juices from the chicken for about 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, shred the chicken with a fork and season with salt. Then add chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Grate in the half bouillon cube. Add egg noodles and let cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. Add in the chicken and parsley. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Enjoy!

* The chicken was seasoned with salt after it had been cooked to keep the chicken as tender as possible. 

Lentil Soup

I went to the farmers market while my husband was out golfing. This of course led to me coming back with a ton of stuff that I probably did not need.  Since I had a bunch of veggies to use up, I decided to make a lentil soup. I figured most veggies would be good with lentils and soup is perfect when you don’t have a lot of time. This soup ended up being so easy to make. It took me an hour but more than half of the time was inactive cooking time.  I hope you enjoy this simple and healthy recipe!

Feeds 4-6 fans

The Players:

1 cup of lentils rinsed

1 tbs olive oil

4 medium to large green onion bulbs (white part) diced (Can substitute 1 cup of diced yellow onion)

1 green onion (green part) sliced

4 garlic cloves minced

2 carrots peeled and chopped

3 stalks of celery chopped

3-5 leaves of kale de-stemmed and chopped

1 plum tomato diced

1/2 to 1 tsp fresh minced jalapeño*

3-5 sprigs of fresh or dried thyme

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups water

¾ tsp cumin

¾ tsp coriander

¼ tsp salt

Pepper to taste

About 1 tbs better than bouillon or to taste

The Game Plan:
 

Heat a dutch oven or large pot on medium heat with olive oil in it. Add all the vegetables but the green parts of the green onion and the tomato. 

Let the veggies cook while stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes or until softened. Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, and coriander.  

 

Add jalapeño, broth, water, tomato, green parts of green onion, and lentils.  
 

Place heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling give it a stir and bring the temperature down to medium low.
 

Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through. Now that everything is cooked through, add the better than bouillon a little at a time while tasting the soup because it can get very salty.
 

 

 Re-adjust any other seasonings if needed. Enjoy!

 

Toasted marshmallow butternut squash soup!

It was another cold and rainy day, and something warm and comforting seemed perfect. I had a bunch of leftover butternut squash that I had frozen from the holidays, so I figured making soup with it would be a great idea!  I have made butternut squash soup before, but after eating an amazing bowl of it at Herons, (local restaurant in Cary, NC) I was inspired to recreate my own version!

Serves 8 fans

The Players:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 2-3 celery stalks diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 3 garlic cloves diced
• 2 small potatoes diced
• 6 cups butternut squash cubed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tps salt
• Pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves 
• 1 tbs bouillon or better than bouillon
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 8 marshmallows (1 per bowl)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds for garnish

The Game Plan:

 



In a dutch oven heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and let cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

 

Add garlic, potato, and butternut squash and let cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and cinnamon.

Add white wine and deglaze. Let cook for about 2 minutes. Then add broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Bring down to a simmer and cover for about 30 minutes. Check to see if the squash and potatoes are cooked through. 

    

Turn off the heat and depending on how you do it you may have to slowly scoop the soup out. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend up the soup to a smooth consistency.  Add bouillon and check seasoning. Bring it back almost boiling and cover.

    

Meanwhile heat a gas stove and place a marshmallow on a skewer stick. Place it close to the stove and let it slightly char. Once the marshmallows are done, either place them at the bottom of the bowl or place soup in bowl and add to top.* Garnish with pumpkin seeds!

 

*The marshmallow will melt easier if you pour the very hot soup onto the marshmallow and cover it.

Warm me up asparagus soup

We have had "a lot" of snow this winter for North Carolina. Being a Floridian (living in NC a little over a year), it was exciting to watch the snow pile up. It looked so pretty, but it made for some super cold days.  My husband and I both had a snow day and it felt appropriate to make something warm and comforting. Aside from a bunch of asparagus, I only had the basics lying around in the fridge. I felt like a hot bowl of asparagus soup was calling my name. I had never made it before, but I had everything I needed to whip it together.

Here's how I did it:

Serves 4-6 fans

The Players:

• 1 bunch of asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 small white potato peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 4 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 2 tps of better than bouillion or bouillion
• 1 tsp of parsley chopped finely
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A splash of milk or cream

The Game Plan:

In a dutch oven heat 2 tbs of olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and let cook until slightly browned, about 8 minutes while occasionally stirring to keep from burning. Add potato and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Let that hang out and cook for a minute.  Then pour in 4 cups of vegetable broth. Let it come to a boil and bring it down to a simmer. Cover for about 15 minutes or so and the potatoes should be cooked. Uncover and add the asparagus. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Asparagus should be tender.

This next step involves turning off the heat and depending on how you do it you may have to slowly scoop the soup out. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend up the soup to a smooth consistency.  Then add the soup back into the pot and season with the bouillion, salt, pepper, and parsley. Once it is to your liking, take it off the heat and add a splash of milk or cream and mix it up until blended. Stay warm and enjoy!

I know in my picture below the asparagus soup is not green but it will depend on the broth you use. Here, I used an organic vegetable broth that was super orange in color and therefore my soup was not exactly the color you would imagine. If you want the green color make sure your broth is light and clear in color. However if your kids dislike green foods, this may be a great way to trick them into eating some!