Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
This time of year is hard. My kids are burnt out of not being able to go outside and I think we are all burnt out of being sick.
I think it should be a rule that Mothers should not be able to get sick. Lets face it, most of us- I say most because there are definitely some supermoms out there that would probably classify me as a whimp- but most of us when we are sick want to just curl up in a warm cozy bed, turn out the lights and fall to sleep in peace and quite. Thats what I wish I could do anyways, but reality is I have 2 small kids, who are just as sick who need some love too. When naps aren’t feasible, chicken noodle soup is definitely the 2nd best option :)
HOWEVER, when it comes to soup I am a creamy-soup-kind-of-girl. Seriously. I have never liked, nor did my mother ever make just the broth chicken noodle soup. My husband, when he is sick, tends to prefer the broth soups. Whatever suits your fancy. There are definitely both kinds of people in this world. Well, since I was the sick one and the one doing the cooking, creamy is what I went with.
I found this yummy looking recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen and knew, with a few minor adjustments, I could make it fit all of my family’s likes and wishes. One of the changes I made was to add half milk and half heavy cream proportions. Evidently, while most people’s new years wishes is to drop a couple pounds, my husbands resolution year after year is to gain a few. This can make dieting pretty tricky at my house :) haha! That said, the heavy cream was added just for him, BUT you can definitely use ALL milk and it will work out just fine! My husband said it could possibly be one of his new favorite soups and that it definitely qualifies as a “hubby favorite.” My picky daughter said upon her first bite, “Oh wow! That’s delicious!” So there you have it, an all around new winter fam-fav!
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
By January 10, 2013
This soup is so delicious and perfect for the colder weather.
Ingredients
- . . BASE RECIPE .
- 2 qt water
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breats about 2-3 chicken breasts
- 1/2 medium sweet onion finely diced almost minced
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 chicken bullion cubes ground up into powder
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced diagonally
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-3 cups thick homestyle egg noodles
- . . CREAM SAUCE RECIPE .
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Fill a large stalk pot with 2 quarts of water. Place raw chicken breasts in water. Add finely chopped onion. Add salt, celery salt, onion powder, powdered chicken bullion cubes, sliced carrots, celery and bay leaf. Stir a little bit just to combine flavors evenly. Cover with lid.
- Cook over medium-high (closer to high) heat and let boil for about an hour.
- Uncover. Remove bay leaf and discard. Remove Chicken breasts and chop into small bite size chunks, about 1 inch big and set aside.
- Add noodles (My hubby likes a lot of noodles so I probably added 3 cups of noodles and about 1 more additional cup of water to the stock pot) and bring back to a boil for 20 minutes. If your water is low, like mine tends to get, you can add more water if needed.
- While noodles are boiling in base, make cream recipe.
- If using half cream and milk portions, then follow this step. If just using milk, ignore this step. In a medium bowl, combine milk and cream and stir to combine the two. I find this helps the thickening process go faster. Cream thickens white sauces a lot faster than milk does so having an even distribution of it will help speed up the white sauce process. Set bowl aside.
- In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup butter completely. Once butter is melted add flour and stir constantly to form roux. Cook roux for about 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly, about 1/2-1 cup at a time, add milk to roux stirring constantly and not adding anymore until each milk addition is thoroughly mixed in.
- Once desired thickness has been reached, stir in garlic salt and salt to the white sauce.
- Once noodles have boiled for about 20 minutes or until done, add chicken back into the base.
- Next pour and stir in white sauce to evenly combine. If mixture is too thin for your liking, stir over medium heat until it reaches desired consistency.
Enjoy!
(Recipe adapted from: Real Mom Kitchen)
