Chicken Noodle Soup..Super Easy and Super Delicious

Here in Georgia the weather has been cold and rainy, which in my opinion is the perfect time for a homemade soup. And there is nothing as classic as chicken noddle soup! This version is surprisingly easy and truly full of flavor. I like to make my soups in a dutch oven, but a stockpot would work great as well. To make this classic comfort food you are going to need:

1-2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil (I personally prefer the butter method because it tends to bind the flavors better than the oil. But if butter isn't your thing by all means change it up)

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (Cut into whatever shape your heart desires)

1 cup sliced celery (Again whatever shape your heart desires. I tend to cut mine by width and then cut those pieces in half again. I don't really like huge chunks of celery)

1 sweet onion diced (Most recipes call for white onion, but I am just not a fan of their flavor. I prefer to use a sweet yellow onion, and I truly only used about half of one diced. I'm not a big fan of onions in general, so feel free to use as much or as little as you like)

1 tablespoon of ginger (This can be freshly grated or ground. I used the ground because I don't usually keep fresh ginger in the house. Using ground will make the soup appear darker, as you can see with mine. And using fresh will cause the soup to have a stronger ginger flavor.)

Minced garlic (This amount is all going to be up to you and your taste preferences. I used about 1 1/4 tablespoons to compensate for using less onion. But anywhere from 1/2 - 1 tablespoon should be fine.)

8 cups of chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh oregano

Egg noodles (As much or as little as you like. I used about 12 ounces. If you aren't a fan of egg noddles feel free to use your favorite type)

Cooked chicken (You can cook your own, use left overs or do what I did and just get a rotisserie chicken when you pick up the rest of your ingredients. This makes it super simple to just pull the chicken off the bones and add it in)

Chopped parsley (As much or as little as you like, fresh or dried. Does parsley even taste like anything??)

The best thing to do for this soup is to get all your veggies chopped up before you begin. This will make the process much smoother! Next, place your dutch oven (or stockpot) on the stove at medium/high heat. Let it warm up a bit and then add your butter, letting it just coat the bottom of the pot. Next add all of your chopped veggies and cook them for about 5 minutes. (Note that your cook time at this point can vary depending on what texture you want the veggies to end up. If you like them a bit crunchier you may want turn your heat down, and also cook them a little less.) Then you can add in your garlic, ginger thyme and oregano. Let everything cook together so the flavors begin to combine for just a minute or two.

Next turn your heat down to medium/low and add all 8 cups of your chicken broth. Letting them simmer, you can add your chicken. I literally just pulled the breast meat off the rotisserie chicken I bought and popped it right in the pot. Next you can add in your egg noodles and give everything a good mix.

You can see here that my broth is a little darker than normal because I used the ground ginger instead of the fresh. Also all those little red things? Well in our house we like spicy, so I added just a bit of cayenne pepper and some crushed red peppers. A little goes a long way! If you want to add a little kick to your soup I highly recommend adding some in. Now all you need to do is turn your heat down to low and let your soup simmer until the noodles are cooked through and tender. Once the noodles reach your favored texture and consistency its time to add in your parsley, give it a good stir and serve up some wonderful homemade comfort food.

Don't be afraid to play around with different vegetables and seasonings for this soup. After all, you are also on your own kitchen adventure.