Chicken and Noodles

The recent yo-yo-ing weather patterns have made it a ripe season for the cold and flu viruses, and to combat them we need all the help we can get - vigilant hand-washing, zealous tissue use, and gobs of chicken noodle soup. It’s the perfect cold-weather comfort food, and paired with 7-Up is the quintessential cure-all for those pesky winter ailments!

I absolutely LOVE my mother-in-law’s homemade chicken noodle soup. The way she traditionally prepares it involves roasting a whole fresh chicken in a slow-cooker with chopped celery, carrots, and onion, which results in really tender meat and deliciously flavored veggies. Unfortunately, I usually don’t have the time (or patience!) to prepare it the “real” way, so I take a few shortcuts! Chopping the vegetables ahead of time (it’s always handy to keep a carrot-celery-onion mix at the ready!) and starting with a pre-cooked rotisserie-style chicken really cuts down on prep time for this classic dish.

Ingredients: (~6-8 servings)

~4 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I usually get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and peel all the meat off, discarding the skin and bones; however, chicken breast would also work - see this post for tips on cooking chicken breast)
1lb carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery heart (~6-8 stalks), sliced

12-16oz egg noodles (I usually use the Amish-style ones for this dish)

4-5 cups low-sodium chicken broth

~1-2 TBSP chopped basil leaves (I used dried)

~1 TBSP oil

~1 TBSP ketchup (optional)

~1 TBSP lemon juice

Salt, pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Sauté carrots, onion, and celery until soft, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil and lemon juice, and for a tangy kick, add ketchup.

While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the egg noodles according to the directions on the noodle package. I typically cook them just shy of al dente, since they will be added to the soup and will cook a little more in the broth.

Add the shredded chicken and egg noodles to the vegetables, then pour in the chicken broth and mix well (start with 4 cups broth, then add as needed for desired soup-iness).  Let simmer about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and dig in!

~ Karla


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Cabbage Soup

The unpredictability of midwestern weather is truly exemplified by the unexpected summer thunderstorms. It can pour down all morning making you walk through deep streams of water to get to work, and by the time you leave for home, the sun would have dried everything up so well, it’d make you wonder if the rain that had completely drenched you from head to toe, really happened - well, unless your feet are still frozen cold from wearing wet shoes all day! Oh well.. I really do like rain, so no complaints!

It’s those rainy days that make me crave a comforting bowl of soup. As much as I like indulging in creamy soups such as broccoli-cheddar or tomato basil bisque, nothing beats a delicious hot broth-based soup. I make cabbage soup often, adding whatever else I have on hand. Corn is one of my favorite things to add to this soup to get a burst of juicy sweetness every now and then. Sometimes I add broccoli to the same soup, even chunks of potato or some boiled chickpeas. The key to tying all these flavorful ingredients together is the broth that’s infused with ginger, garlic and bay leaves. You could also add peppercorns, or cloves if you prefer. I like to make my own vegetable stock*, but a readymade one or even water could be used in this soup.

Ingredients: (~4-5 servings)

½ medium cabbage - chopped

½ - ¾ cup chopped onion

½ red pepper - chopped
1 small carrot - thinly sliced
¼ cup corn kernels (~½ ear of corn)
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove - minced
½ inch piece of ginger - grated
Salt and/or soy sauce - to taste

~3 cups water/stock* (See note at the bottom for making homemade stock)

½ - 1 tsp oil

Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Heat a little bit of oil, add onions, pepper, ginger, garlic and bay leaves, and sauté over medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add corn, pepper, cover and cook for a minute until veggies are slightly softened. Add cabbage, mix well and saute for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock or water, season with salt or soy sauce and ground black pepper. Soy sauce is especially a good choice if you’re using water instead of stock. Increase the heat, let the soup come to a boil and add more stock as necessary. Add chopped parsley if desired.

 

Serve hot alongside some hearty toasted bread or a light salad with fresh greens.

~Gayatri

*Note: An easy way to make vegetable stock at home is to save vegetable scraps in an airtight bag or container in the freezer. That way, when you need some stock, all you have to do is add them to water, let it boil and reduce for some time, strain and use in your recipe. I’ve even used ice cube trays to freeze extra stock. The good thing about this is that you can control what you put in it and can even flavor it as you like - I like to add ginger and/or some whole spices when I’m making the stock.

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Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

Sometimes on a rainy, grey day, there’s nothing better to eat than a nice hot bowl of soup, whether it’s tomato bisque, chicken noodle, beef stew, minestrone, or this delicious take on vegetable soup. Even though they seem pretty easy (broth plus veggies plus protein, right?), I’ve never been particularly good at making soups - most of the time they end up too bland and watery. But I can be a rather stubborn person, and am determined to master at least one variety! I found this Greek-style chicken lemon rice soup in my mother’s recipe box, and it looked right up my alley with only a handful of ingredients. I made some minor tweaks and ended up with a deliciously flavorful soup!

Ingredients: (makes 4-6 servings)

4 cups chicken broth

4 oz (~½ cup) uncooked rice

~½ - ¾ lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded or diced (see this post for instructions on cooking chicken)

3 eggs

4 TBSP lemon juice

salt, pepper to taste

In a 2-quart pot, bring chicken broth to a boil over med-hi to high heat. Add rice and cover, reducing heat to med-lo, and simmer until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Add chicken to the pot.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and lemon juice. Then, stirring constantly, add about 1 cup of hot water from the rice to the egg/lemon mixture, a little at a time so the eggs do not curdle.

Slowly add the egg mixture back into the soup. Cook and stir over low heat until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Take care not to boil or the eggs will curdle. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

~Karla

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Sweet potato and carrot soup

Sometimes on a lazy weekend afternoon, I just want a quick and easy lunch, which doesn’t require a lot of cooking or cleaning. Soups generally fall in that category, and given how cold its been lately, that didn’t seem like a bad idea. I had a sweet potato on hand and typically have some carrots too for making salads, so I threw them all together along with some yogurt for a little tanginess. It took me only 10 minutes to put together this scrumptious meal.

 

Ingredients:

1 small sweet potato cooked (~½ cup)

¼ cup chopped carrots

½ cup water/stock

1 tbsp yogurt

1 tsp flour

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

lemon juice (optional)

salt

pepper

chopped parsley (optional - for garnish)

1 tbsp chia+flaxseed powder (optional)

 

 

In a blender/food processor, make a puree with the sweet potato, carrots, water/stock, yogurt, flour, nutmeg, salt, pepper. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened to your liking and heated through. Add chia+flaxseed powder if using. Adjust water/stock if required. Adding lemon juice and lots of freshly ground pepper helps cut the sweetness of sweet potato and carrots. Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top and garnish with fresh parsley. The soup makes for a perfect guilt free (aka oil/cream free) lunch on a cold winter day.

~Gayatri
 

Cold Cucumber Soup

Hot summers generally don't call for soups, but here's a simple no-cook chilled soup recipe that you can relish on a summer afternoon. This refreshing cucumber soup is a great way to beat the summer heat and is also an easy to make starter for potluck dinners as it can be made ahead of time and served cold.

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 cup thick yogurt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 mint leaves

Salt and pepper

Save a small piece of cucumber to be added to the soup at the end. In a blender, puree rest of the cucumber with yogurt, lemon juice and mint leaves, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Finely chop the small piece of cucumber and mix with the soup. Refrigerate for about an hour and serve cold. Although this basic recipe makes a delicious summer cooler, there are several variations that can be made to suit your taste. You can vary the quantity of mint leaves or lemon juice depending on how you like it. Basil leaves can be used instead of mint leaves. It also tastes good with a pinch of cumin powder. The recipe above makes 2-3 servings of soup.

~Gayatri