National Soup Month

Who wants a bowl?
(Google Image) 

By Diane Forrest,

On a cold winter's day nothing will warm you up like a nice hot bowl of soup.  Soup is a warm food made with meat, vegetables, a liquid such as water or milk, and sometimes pasta or rice.  Then it is boiled together to make a delicious meal.   There are two types, thick or thin, an sometimes thick soups are called stews.  I have never been much of a soup eater, I prefer eating with a fork, and it’s even better when it crunches, letting me know I am eating something.  In the past year I have been eating more soup because my dad has been doing more of the cooking, and when they invite me over to eat, if I am hungry, I eat soup.  I have to admit it isn’t that bad.  It warms you and fills you up.  Soups aren't very expensive, and they can last for many meals.

(Google Image) 

There are many different soups, hot soups, cold soups, even soups made from fruit.  In the 19th Century a chemist at the Campbell company invented a way to condense soup to make it even less expensive and add more soup by adding your own milk or water.  The bestselling canned soups are Tomato, Cream of Mushroom and Chicken Noodle.

Chicken Soup is also great to have if you are sick or just not feeling well.  When my husband was having dental problems he lived on Subway's chicken noodle soup.  I wish I had my daddy's recipe then, would have saved me alot of trips to subway!

(Google Image) 

January is National Soup month, and I was able to pry my daddy's famous Chicken Noodle Soup recipe for you.  In just 30 minutes you will have a hot delicious filling meal.  If you don't have time to fix your own soup, you can always open a can or head to Olive Garden for some endless soup, salad and bread sticks.  Keep warm this winter by trying some of your favorite soups.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (Daddy uses the already shredded carrots)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups good quality chicken stock
• 1 pound (the average weight of 1 package) chicken breast tenders, diced
• 1/2 pound wide egg noodles

Directions

1. Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Work close to the stove and add vegetables to the pot as you chop, in the order they are listed.
2. Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Add stock to the pot and raise flame to bring liquid to a boil. Add diced chicken tenderloins, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate.
4. Cook chicken 2 minutes and add noodles.
5. Cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat. Remove bay leaves and serve.
6. This is a thick soup. Add up to 2 cups of water if you like chicken soup with lots of broth.

(Google Image)