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!

Low Fat and Delicious Sausage Gumbo

This is another amazing recipe I found in my library book, Eating Well for a Healthy Heart. This was actually a monumental recipe for me because it is the first time I have ever used turkey sausage. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I plan to replace the beef sausage in all my recipes with turkey sausage. It is 100 fewer calories per serving. The recipe also called for Cajun seasoning and I tried a new brand by Luzianne. I really liked it as well and highly recommend it. Very tasty.

Sausage Gumbo

1 pkg turkey sausage, sliced
2 tsp canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 tbsp flour
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
4 cups chicken broth
2 -1/2 cups frozen chopped okra
3/4 cup instant brown rice

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage with onion and garlic until sausage is browned and onion is tender. Add cajun seasoning and cook for about 1 minute more.
2. Add flour and cook, stirring to coat the onion and sausage, until the flour starts to brown, about 1 minute.
3. Add tomato, chicken broth, okra, and rice, thyme, and bay leaf. Simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings
168 calories 6 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono)
25 mg cholesterol, 11 g protein, 3 g fiber, 631 mg sodium
High in Vitamin C and Vitamin A

Sauté sausage with onion and garlic in canola oil:

Add remaining ingredients and simmer:

This is a fabulous recipe, especially considering that it is only 168 calories.

Christmas Confetti Soup with Buttered Croutons

I found this soup recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Two of the ingredients are spinach and red bell pepper, hence the name "Christmas confetti." You could, of course, serve it any time of the year. It has a mild flavor with a touch of nutmeg. The croutons make a fun accompaniment, and are cut into shapes with Christmas cookie cutters.

Christmas Confetti Soup

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 10 oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup half and half

1. In a large saucepan, saute pepper in butter until tender Stir in flour. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in broth. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.

2. Add the chicken, spinach, and nutmeg. Stir in half and half. Heat through. If desired, sprinkle individual servings with additional nutmeg. Serve with croutons.

CroutonsPreheat oven to 350. Cut shapes from bread slices. Brush with melted butter and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until toasted.


Saute red pepper in butter until tender:

Add flour and cook for 1 minute:

Add broth and cook until bubbly and thickened. (Make a flour paste and add to thicken soup more if needed).

Stir in spinach, chicken, and nutmeg:

Add half and half:

It makes a delicious, creamy base:

Cut desired shapes out of bread:

I noticed that the shapes looked better when they were flipped over. The one on the left is the back side of the shape:

Brush with melted butter and bake:

Serve in bowls or mugs:

The little croutons really add a lot to the soup and they are quick and easy to make.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Slow Cooked 15 Bean Soup

Dried beans are delicious, high in fiber, and very budget friendly. I wanted to try cooking a bean soup in my crock pot, which I thought would be the perfect recipe for a work day. I found a 15 Bean Soup mix and decided to try that.

There are a couple of things I will do differently next time, and I addressed them both in the recipe. One is that I would add celery. The other is that I would wait to add the onion and sausage until a couple of hours before the soup was ready. The sausage was a little too soft for my taste, which was the result of cooking all day long.

Slow Cooked 15 Bean Soup

1 package Cajun 15 Bean Soup Mix
1 lb sausage, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 cups water
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste ( I thought it needed a lot of salt)
4 bay leaves
1 can petite diced tomatoes

The night before:
1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight.
2. Sauté onion, celery, and sausage in a skillet with a small amount of oil until onion is tender and sausage is browned. Store in refrigerator until needed.

The next morning:
1. Drain and rinse beans. Place in crock pot.
2. Add tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and the seasoning packet included with the beans.
3. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
4. About 2 hours before the soup is finished, add the onion and sausage.


The night before, sauté sausage and onion, (and celery, if desired) and store in the refrigerator.

Place the beans in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight.

The next morning (5:30 am for me!) drain and rinse the beans:

Place the ingredients in the crock pot and cook for 10 -12 hours on low:

The result is a rich, hearty, and fabulous soup. It will be particularly tasty this fall.

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!

Jambalaya

This is a combination of two recipes from Cajun and Creole Cooking, a cookbook I purchased recently. One of the authors is William Paul, AKA Colonel Paul of Colonel Paul's Seasonings. He lives here in Birmingham and is married to Jennifer, a very dear nurse friend of mine. His spices are available in grocery stores locally and also online. I am wild for the Creole Spice, which is an important ingredient in this recipe. There is a little bit of prep involved for this, but it is well worth it!

Jambalaya
(Adapted from Colonel Paul's Cajun Jambalaya and New Orleans Creole Jambalaya)

3 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced and quartered
2 tbsp Cajun/Creole seasoning, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 cups uncooked white rice
2 tbsp Worchestershire
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled

In a skillet, heat the oil and sauté the chicken and sausage together with 1/2 tbsp of Cajun/Creole seasoning until browned. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and 1/2 tbsp Cajun/Creole seasoning to the skillet and sauté until soft.

In a large pot, combine the meat cooked vegetables, and chicken broth. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Add the rice, Worchestershire sauce, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and 1 tbsp Cajun/Creole seasoning. Bring back to a boil, being careful to stir so the rice will not stick to the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and stir.Continue to cook as needed until the rice is done. Turn heat down to low and add shrimp, cooking until shrimp is pink.

Yield: 6 servings


Chop sausage and chicken. (I used Conecuh brand sausage and it was delicious)

Chop onion, bell pepper, and celery:

Cook chicken and sausage with seasoning until browned:

Sauté vegetables and seasoning until tender:

Add remaining ingredients except for the shrimp and cook until the rice is done. Add shrimp and cook on low heat only until pink. Don't overcook the rice or the shrimp!

I served this with slaw and homemade dill rolls. It is also delicious the next day, if there is actually any left.

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.