Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

Mike has had strep throat this week, so I made up a big pot of homemade chicken soup. We had it for two dinners plus a lunch with toasted sourdough bread and butter, and a sprinkle of pepper flakes. This can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. As you prefer, all of the ingredients can be diced in little squares, or sliced to make a chunkier soup.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 celery stalks, sliced or diced
3 carrots, sliced or diced
1/2 large onion, cut in half again and then sliced or diced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper

1/2 package di Cecco fettucine noodles (you can use any noodle, just choose the amount for the number of portions you want to make)

Chicken stock, veggie stock, or Better than Bouillion
+/- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced

1 cup frozen peas
2-3 chard leaves, stemmed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley or flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Tools
Large saute pan
Large saucepan or med stockpot
Knife and cutting board
Wooden spoon

Method
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add cut up chicken and brown partway. Push chicken to the side and add onion, celery and carrot to pan. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and thyme. Stir.

Fill a large saucepan or stock pot 2/3 with water or chicken stock. (You are not going to drain the noodles. If using bouillion or stock concentrate, add later.) Cook noodles until 2/3 done-- when the white in the center is gone, but they are still firm.

While the noodles are boiling, saute vegetables and chicken until veggies are softened and slightly golden and chicken is cooked through. Deglaze the pan with a ladle full of chicken stock or water from the noodle pot. Add contents of saute pan to almost-done noodles and water/stock in saucepan.

Add peas, chard and parsley. If you don't have enough liquid in your soup, or you need to feed more people, add a little more water or stock at this point. Add bouillion or season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring up to a simmer. Remove from heat when carrots and noodles are al dente, or to your liking. If the noodles are not overcooked to begin with, they will keep some of their bite when reheated. Serve with buttered, toasted sourdough baguette slices. Add a pinch of chili flake if desired.

I like chard, because it's a nutritious dark green that blends in with whatever it's cooked with. You can use more or less than I did. Any number of different vegetables could be thrown in here, such as roughly chopped spinach, kale (be sure to remove spines and tough stems), or anything else leafy and green. You could even use cabbage, just not too much.

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For dessert lately, I've been liking fruit-based desserts with a small scoop of ice cream, rather than the other way around. Half of a baked apple topped with ice cream and sprinkled with cinnamon feels wintry and comforting. The apples at Whole Foods right now are so great-- I tried Honey Crisp and Pink Lady varieties yesterday and both were delicious raw and cooked. Good mixed because they differ in texture when cooked.

Or a sliced banana with whole toasted almonds (salted, smoked and raw almonds are great, too) ice cream and cinnamon sprinkle. This seems to be a good way to have dessert and not feel terrible about it, not to mention making the ice cream last longer. Cinnamon is also supposed to aid in moderating blood sugar, so I try to include some with dessert if I can.