Suzi's Chicken Soup for the Soul :)

Last week I was faced with every mother's favorite time of the year: cold and flu season!  Four members of our five person family came down with an illness of some sort last week, so, I decided to whip up a huge pot of chicken soup to warm my family's soul.  George, Maddy, Nick, and I all agreed this was the most delicious chicken soup we've ever had, so, I decided I must share the recipe with anybody who wants to make a supper yummy, EASY pot of chicken soup.  This recipe truly is a cinch - no real cooking skills are required, I promise!  I got the base for this recipe from Rachel Ray, but, I made a few modifications.  For one, I doubled Rachel's recipe - this made enough soup to last my house full of sickies a full week.  Secondly, as this is a thick soup, I added extra chicken stock,  not water, as Rachel suggests (I find that water really drains the soup of its flavor).  Also, I used pre-packaged, pre-cut carrots and celery - every time I cut these veggies myself, I find the soup to be a little bland.  If you want a smaller pot of soup, just cut this recipe in half.

Total Time: 30 Minutes
Prep: 15 Minutes
Cook: 15 Minutes (use your judgement - when the noodles look perfect and the soup tastes delish you know it's time to remove it from the burner!)

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I don't measure 4 Tablespoons - I circle my soup pot 4 times instead) - I only suggest buying Olive Oil that is made in Italy
• 1 16oz. bag of pre-sliced carrots (the carrots are a little big, so, you can cut them in half if you wish, but, I just use them as they come packaged)
• 2 Parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 1 Container of Chopped Celery
• 4 Fresh Bay Leaves
• Salt & Black Ground Pepper (I use McCormick)
• 4 32oz. Boxes of Chicken Stock (I only use stock, not broth.  This is a thick soup - if you like extra broth, I suggest using more stock, not water, to the recipe for flavor)
• 4 Packages of Perdue Short Cuts Carved Chicken Breast, Orignal Roasted 
• 1 Pound Wide Egg White  Noodles
• A Handful of Fresh Italian Parsley (I use Italian, not Curly)
• A Handful of Fresh Dill

Directions:

1. Place a large soup pot over moderate heat (I turn mine on directly between medium and high)
2. Add Olive Oil (add it in circles, 4 times around the pot, to make sure it spreads evenly)
3. Stay close to the stove and add veggies in the order they are listed.  Make sure each veggie is nicely married with the olive oil as you do this.
4. Once the veggies are nicely married with the olive oil, add Bay Leaves, Salt, and Pepper to taste.
5. Add Stock and raise the pot to a boil.
6. Once the pot is boiling, add the Chicken and return the soup to a boil.
7. Once the soup is boiling after the Chicken has been added, reduce the heat back to moderate.
8. After turning the soup back to moderate, cook the Chicken for two minutes.
9. After two minutes, add Noodles.
10. Cook the soup with Noodles for approximately 6 minutes or until the Noodles are tender.
11. Once the Noodles have reached desired tenderness, remove the soup from heat.
12. After you remove the soup from heat, add Parsley and Dill and remove Bay Leaves.  Stir the soup to let the Parsley and Dill flavor the soup - once the Parsley and Dill have settled, add more Salt and Pepper to taste, if desired.
13. Your soup is now ready to go!  If it is too thick for your liking, add more Chicken Stock, not water.
14. Serve with grated Parmesan Cheese.  I use Gabriela but Lotito - I don't care what brand you use, as long as it doesn't come in a green shakeable container.  ;)

I serve my homemade soup with fresh bread.  In the fall, I love my soup with a French Baguette topped with apple butter.  Yummy :)