Rosemary Chicken Soup

If you’re looking for that canned variety of noodles or stars, lacking in flavor, this is not the soup for you. If you want a bowl of yummy goodness, with depths of flavor of stemming from rosemary (rosemary is my FAV!), chicken stock and just a little bit of kick, then go grab a pot and let’s get goin’.

Below will be instructions as well for a little less kick if you do have a 5 year old 😉

ingredients:

• 2 cups  cooked shredded chicken (chicken options below)
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery staks, sliced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 8 cups chicken broth made with Better Than Bouillon paste
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 1/2 -1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-2 tiny pinches cayenne powder

directions:

To a large pot on medium heat add oil. Add diced onion, sauce for about 4-5 minutes, until translucent. Next add, celery and carrot, cooking an additional 4-5 minutes until softened. Add in garlic and cook another minute, until aromatic. Pour in chicken broth (8 cups hot water mixed with 8 tsp Better Than Bouillon paste). Add rosemary. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 5-10  minutes, depending on how tines you’d like the rosemary flavor to be. Depending on when that is, remove rosemary sprigs and discard. Add in chicken and noodles. Cook for 8-10 minutes, depending on personal preference of noodle-doneness. I think thats a phrase. If not, I just made it one 😂. Keep in mind, the longer they cook, the more broth they’ll soak up. you can always add additional chicken stock if needed. Now, Jeres where the kick or no kick part comes in. Add in salt. START with 1/2 tsp. pepper and ONE tiny pinch of cayenne, and taste. If it’s perfect, stop there. Want a bit more kick? Add the other 1/2 tsp. pepper. Taste. If you still need that extra oooh, add that last tiny pinch of cayenne.

Voila. A chicken noodle soup that’s nothing like you grew up with. You’re a grown up now 😁

Oh! The chicken options!

You can make life a whole lot easier and purchase a rotisserie chicken already shredded. Costco has it, and it’s well worth it in my opinion. But if you have the time, you can always make it yourself. I have an easy recipe below for poached chicken, so versatile that you can make a lot and use whatever you have left over from the soup and put towards another meal.

Poached Chicken:

ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast
• Chicken broth (enough to cover top of chicken) 3-4 cups
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. pepper

directions:

In a dutch oven or large pot on medium heat, add diced onion. Sprinkle pepper over onions. Place chicken on top of bed of onions. Lay sliced lemons on top of chicken. Add bay leaf. Pour in chicken broth until chicken is covered by an inch. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked. Thinner pieces may cook sooner and may be pulled so that they’re nice and moist. Thicker pieces made need additional time pest the 20 minute mark. Just keep checking for doneness. Remove from pot and let cool. When cool to the touch, shred by hand.  You can toss the chicken broth base you now have, or save for another recipe.