Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: The Ultimate Comfort Food

Who doesn't love chicken noodle soup? Especially on a frigid December night like tonight. Gil has a cold and really has felt bad for the past couple of days. I decided to make chicken noodle soup to help him feel better faster. I served it with Roasted Red Pepper Cheese sandwiches. He is now completely cured.

Vickie's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

aka Miracle Cure for the Common Cold

4-6 chicken breasts
2 cans Swanson chicken broth
3 cups water
1 stalk celery
2 tsp salt
1- 1/2 tsp basil
1- 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1- 1/2 cups dry pasta (I used fusilli)

1. Simmer chicken in a medium saucepan until tender, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and shred.

2. Strain the water from that pan into a larger saucepan. Add remaining ingredients except for pasta. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Add pasta and cook on medium high until pasta is done, about 20 minutes. You can cook the pasta in a separate pot if you want to. I liked the simplicity of cooking it all together. Just be sure and taste the pasta and make sure it is cooked through.

Enjoy and be comforted!

Collard Greens Soup

Though it may sound like an odd combination, if you like collard greens, you will LOVE this soup.

Collard Greens Soup

1 package Conecuh sausage
1 onion, finely chopped
6 oz beer (opt)
1-1/2 - 2 packages frozen collard or turnip greens
2 cans chicken broth (or 1 carton)
2 cans butter beans
4 vegetable bouillon cubes or 1 packet Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
salt and pepper to taste
Worchestershire sauce to taste

Brown onion and sausage in about 2 tbsp butter:


Add 6 oz beer, if desired:

Combine remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes.

This is very easy to make and is delicious with cornbread.

Thank you, Chris!

Chicken Spaghetti

Today I was in the mood for chicken spaghetti but didn't have any particular recipe to follow. I have eaten chicken spaghetti many times but have never actually made it. So I perused the web and did my own adaptation from a combination of several recipes. I also wanted to use ingredients I already had. The Rotel tomatoes will give it a kick. You can certainly use regular canned tomatoes if you would rather. Other additions that would be good are green bell pepper, mushrooms, and black olives. You can easily tailor make it to your own preference.

Chicken Spaghetti

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 oz spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained well
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling water until cooked al dente.
2. Meanwhile, sauté onion and celery in butter until tender. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream of chicken soup, tomatoes, sour cream, Worchestershire, and parmesan cheese. Add drained spaghetti, onion, and celery. Pour into a greased baking dish and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yield: about 6 servings


Chop onion and celery and sauté in butter until tender.

Stir together chicken, sour cream, soup, Worchestershire, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. (I would use a larger bowl than this. It will give more room for the spaghetti).

Cook spaghetti until done, then drain and add to the chicken mixture.

Pour into a greased baking dish:

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The result is creamy and delicious.

Yellow Split Pea Soup with Ham

I like to shop at several different grocery stores because when I offer myself a variety of items to choose from, I often discover interesting things I wouldn't find otherwise. I was at Winn Dixie the other day and noticed these yellow split peas. I had never seen yellow ones before and decided to try them. If you want to be cooler and more current and relevant than Winn Dixie, you can find them at places like Whole Foods, also. As you can see, they are RICH IN FIBER. They are also low in calories and fat and a good source of iron.

I cooked the peas with my favorite soup spices until they were mushy and used them as the base of the soup. Then I added ham and simmered it for a few minutes. It was amazingly delicious. And really easy. It is now one of our favorite soups.

Yellow Split Pea Soup with Ham

1 lb dried yellow split peas
6 cups water
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 cans chicken broth
1 ham steak, cut into cubes

In a medium saucepan, cover peas with 6 cups of water. Add oregano, salt, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour.

In a larger saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender. Add flour and stir until blended. Add chicken broth and heat to boiling, stirring with a wire whisk until blended and thickened. Stir the peas with a whisk until smooth and creamy, then add the peas and ham to the thickened broth. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Yield: about 6 servings

Cook the peas for about an hour. They will be mushy:
Sauté onion until tender:

Add flour and blend:


Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk until thickened:

Blend peas together until creamy before adding to the chicken broth:

Blend the peas into the broth, add ham, and simmer for a few minutes:

Oooooo....... it is great comfort food. And RICH IN FIBER.

I served it with whole wheat rolls.

My Favorite Chili

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found in a Taste of Home magazine several years ago. It has a few ingredients, such as bay leaves, cumin, corn, and mushrooms, which are a little unusual for your basic chili recipe. It is very hearty and flavorful and is great for company.

My Favorite Chili
1 lb ground chuck
1 lb sausage, sliced and quartered
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
4 cups water
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained
1 small pkg sliced mushrooms
1 - 1/2 cups white shoepeg corn (canned or frozen)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregeno
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large stock pot, brown the ground chuck, sausage, bell pepper, garlic, and onion until done.
Remove and drain on paper towels. Return to pot and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Yield: about 10 servings

Brown the ground chuck, sausage, onion, bell pepper and garlic:


Drain on paper towels and return to pot. Add remaining ingredients:



This is delicious served with cornbread and is great left over.

Chicken Potato Chowder

Autumn is here and it is the season for soup! This chowder is made from a base that I use for several other soups. Sometimes I also start with Swanson's chicken broth. I like to use Wondra flour as a thickening agent because it makes such a smooth paste.
This soups smells wonderful while it is cooking and it tastes even better.

Chicken Potato Chowder

Broth Base:
6-8 cups water
4-6 chicken breasts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper

Soup:
strained broth base
1/4 cup Wondra flour or cornstarch
1/4 cup water
cooked and shredded chicken
8-10 small cooked new potatoes, chopped with skins on
1 - 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 - 1/2 tsp salt (you may want to increase this to your taste -it needs a lot of salt)
1- 1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 -3/4 cup half and half

1. In a medium saucepan, stew chicken in water with spices until tender. This will take about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a larger saucepan until done.
3. Remove the chicken once it is cooked onto a platter to cool slightly. Strain the broth into the pot of potatoes. Bring to a boil.
4. Add additional spices and corn. Combine Wondra flour and water with a wire whisk to form a paste. Add to the boiling broth. Add more if necessary to achieve the desired thickness.
5. Add half and half.


Stew chicken with spices for about 30 minutes:

Remove to cool:

Strain chicken broth into the pot of potatoes once they are tender:

This is why I like to strain the broth:

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and water with a wire whisk. Then stir it into the boiling soup and allow to thicken.


Add half and half for flavor and creaminess:

Mmmm... a nice comforting bowl of soup on a lovely autumn evening. It's hard to improve on that scenario.

Chicken and Dumplings

I have been making this for many years and it is a favorite of Amby and Zac's. Per his request, I made it for Zac's birthday dinner and decided I would post it. It has been in my head all this time, so I will try to communicate it so that it actually makes sense.

I make the dumplings out of bisquick and buttermilk, but you can make them from canned biscuit dough. It is easier and cuts down on the mess, but, to me, they just aren't as good. I do not think this "recipe" has any redeeming nutritional value, but it is very high in yumminess and comfort.


Chicken and Dumplings

4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
flour or cornstarch for thickening
3 cups of Bisquick
1 cup buttermilk
salt & pepper to taste

Cook chicken in 8 cups of boiling water until tender. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool.
Strain water and return water to pot. Stir in chicken soup. Heat to boiling. In a small bowl, add about 1/2 cup flour or cornstarch to about 1-1/2 cups water and stir thoroughly until smooth. Add this to soup so that it becomes thick. Repeat if necessary to achieve the desired thickness.

In a medium bowl, stir bisquick and buttermilk together until stiff. Drop one spoonful at a time into the boiling soup mixture. This makes alot of dumplings, by the way. When the pot becomes full of dumplings, push the new dumplings underneath the first layer you dropped in that are still cooking. Boil for about 15 minutes, uncovered. They will puff up while they cook. Shred chicken and add to pot. Heat through. (Note: Some of the dumplings will dissipate into the soup. That is why the dumpling mixture needs to be as thick as possible.)


The bisquick and buttermilk mixture should look like this:
Drop by scant spoonfuls into boiling soup mixture and cook for about 15 minutes:


For Wonder Boy's birthday dinner, I served this with fried okra, field peas, and sliced tomatoes. We finished feeling agonizingly full, yet imperturbably comforted.