Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

This creamy & cheesy Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole requires only five simple ingredients to make & can be on your dinner table in under an hour...

At least once a month, I whip up a pot of my Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner. It is so much better than most of that stuff that comes out of the can or the carton, and it also happens to be one of my daughter's favorite dinners that I make. 

My recipe makes a generous batch of this homemade goodness. And because of this, we often get tired of enjoying the leftovers before they are all gone. 

My solution? I transform some of that leftover chicken noodle soup into a creamy, cheesy, & comforting casserole perfect for busy weeknights! :) 

This easy to make Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole requires only five simple ingredients to make & can be on your dinner table in under an hour...

Chicken Marsala Noodle Soup

This Chicken Marsala Noodle Soup incorporates all the flavors of the classic chicken dish- sauteed mushrooms, crispy prosciutto, & rich Marsala wine- into a comforting, cozy soup your entire family will love...

The crazy weather we have been having here lately has been wreaking havoc on my immune system. We went from arctic-like, below zero temperatures one week to Florida-like weather the next week. And the weather is still see-sawing here between rainy spring & snowy winter this week. 

I ended up with a sinus infection over the weekend that quickly morphed into a full-on case of laryngitis. Let me just say that I am glad that I have a job where I work from home & do not have to talk on the phone very often. ;)

Feeling under the weather has me craving some of my favorite comfort foods like the recipe for this Chicken Marsala Noodle Soup I am sharing with you all today. This soup is a classy, flavorful take on my classic homemade chicken noodle soup recipe. It incorporates all the classic flavors of Chicken Marsala- sauteed mushrooms, crispy prosciutto, & rich Marsala wine- into a comforting, cozy soup your entire family will love...

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This comforting family favorite recipe for Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup can be on the table in around 30 minutes...

Okay, you all. I am sharing a recipe with you guys today that will just crush that canned stuff you have been heating up over the years.  

It takes just a little more effort than cranking that can open and dumping the contents into a pan, but not so much more that you can't make this Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup happen on a weekday evening. This delicious homemade soup can be on your dinner table in around 30 minutes, folks!

I have been making this recipe for my family for years now, and it is definitely a monthly meal plan favorite. In fact, it just may be my daughter's most favorite dinner at the moment. Not a week goes by that she doesn't ask me at least twice if we are having "Cock-a-doodle" soup for dinner. 

I had thought about actually titling my recipe by this adorable name my three year old has given it, but I didn't want to you all to think that any roosters had been harmed in the making of this soup. ;)

There is nothing fancy in this recipe- chicken broth, carrots, celery, chicken- but it is definitely the simplicity of it that just speaks of wholesomeness, comfort, and family dinners around the table...

Support for Sandy- Good Ole Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

Today I am joining together with other food bloggers across the country in posting a favorite comfort food recipe in order to raise awareness for the need for donations to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Homes have been destroyed, families have been devastated, lives forever changed.  Please consider clicking the button above and making a donation to the Red Cross.  

Enjoy my recipe for Good Ole Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup.  :)  I wish I could make a few big batches of this and send them up north...

One of my favorite homemade comfort foods for fall is Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.  And when I say homemade, I mean HOMEMADE.  I roast two large chicken breasts in my Crock Pot a few days before I plan to make a pot of the soup. (CLICK HERE for my recipe for Slow Cooker Roast Chicken.)  Then I remove all the good meat from the bone-in chicken breasts and save the rest (bones, cartilage, skin, etc) in a container in the fridge and make homemade chicken broth the next day with it.  (CLICK HERE for my recipe for Small Batch Homemade Chicken Broth.)  Then on the third day, I use my slow cooker roast chicken and my homemade chicken broth and make THE BEST homemade chicken noodle soup you will ever slurp. ;)  But, you don't HAVE to do all that to make this recipe.  You can buy a grocery store rotisserie chicken and a carton of chicken broth.  But it is worth the effort if you have the time to make it all from scratch.

What you will need:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped (or you can use a couple of handfuls of baby carrots & chop them)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

4 cups of chicken broth (homemade, if you got it ;) )

3 cups of water

2 bay leaves

about 5 oz of extra wide noodles

about 1 1/2 cups of chopped cooked chicken

2 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped

Salt & pepper, to taste

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Once heated add the olive oil and butter.  Once the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and carrots.  Saute for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the chicken broth and water.  Drop in the bay leaves.  Heat to boiling.  Once it is brought to a boil, add your noodles.  Boil for another 10 minutes until noodles are tender.  Reduce the heat to a simmer.

Fish out the two bay leaves (do this with spoon and not your fingers, please ;) ). Then add in the chicken and parsley.   Cook another 3-4 minutes until the chicken has been heated through.  Taste your broth at this point and add salt and pepper to your taste.  

Ladle into bowls and serve with a nice crusty bread or good old school traditional like us and pull out the saltines. ;)  This makes about 6-8 servings.

Please head over to Creative Culinary to check out the other comfort food recipes being linked up for Support for Sandy, and link up your own recipe too! Just CLICK HERE. :)

What is one of your favorite comfort food meals to make?

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

So, my poor tweener son has a sore throat today.  What better to feed your sick kid than homemade chicken noodle soup?  I know it is tempting to just pop the top on some Progresso (and I am not saying that I never do that myself, lol!), but making your own chicken noodle soup from scratch is so easy that you have to make it every once in a while.  I also share the same sentiments on jarred pasta sauce, but that is for another blog.  ;) 

To get started, dice about half of onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic.  Heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup/stock pot.  (Did I mention that this is a one pot deal??  Score!)  Once the oil is heated, add & saute the onion & garlic.  As the onion & garlic is sauteing, chop about a third of a package of baby carrots into bite-sized bits.  (Keep those carrots in check and cut gently.  They will try to get away from you!)  Add the carrot bits to the onions in the pot, and saute another 3 minutes.  Stir the onions & carrots often so they do not burn.  During the late minute of sauteing, add a little flavor- salt & pepper, some thyme, tarragon, and rosemary.  I used all dried herbs, but feel free to use fresh if you have them on hand.

Pour an entire 32 oz carton of chicken broth into the pot.  I also add a few cups of water.  Turn up the heat to medium-high.  This is when I throw in a bay leave.  It isn't necessary, but it gives the broth a nice flavor.  Heat the broth to a boil.  As the broth is heating, cut up 1-2 cooked chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.  (Ah-hem- this is where that rotisserie chicken from earlier this week comes in nicely!)  Add the chicken to the pot.  As this point, you can throw in any frozen veggies you may have on hand- peas, green beans, whatever suits your fancy.  Once the broth is boiling, add your noodles.  I used vermicelli & broke them into fourths before throwing them into the pot.  But you can use any pasta you have on hand- small shells, linguine, egg noodles, etc.  Just make sure they are in easily spoonable sizes.  :)  Once the noodles are almost done, scoop out the bay leaf. Then throw in any greens you have on hand.  I used baby spinach leaves that I tore into smaller pieces.  But you could also use kale or swiss chard.  Let the soup cook for another 3-5 minutes and then taste the broth.  Does it need more salt or pepper?  Go ahead and add it. 

This is an amazingly easy and surprisingly quick dinner, and who isn't impressed with HOMEMADE chicken noodle soup??  I ladled our soup into bowls and topped it with a few tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese.  Serve with a crusty bread or your favorite crackers.  Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Lemon Soup

Make a Greek restaurant favorite at home with this easy recipe for Homemade Chicken Lemon Soup...

It is that time of the year again... time for chilly evenings, cups of warm cocoa, those first snow flurries.... and those cold & flu germs.

Yep. Those yucky germs with the coughing, stuffiness, sneezing, and sniffles they bring start invading the pleasantness of the season.

We pick them up at work or school and bring them home.  Friends & family who stop over & visit leave them at our doorstep.  Play dates always come with the risk of it.  You name it.

Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham

Not only is this Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham recipe super flavorful & simple to make, but it also happens to be budget friendly as well... 

Let me introduce you all to the only way I can get my husband to eat beans- this Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham recipe I am sharing with you all today. As long as I serve it alongside a slice of fresh baked cornbread, he dives right in. 

But beans in chili? Nope. He picks them out. A three bean salad at a backyard BBQ? The man won't go near it. Refried beans at our favorite Mexican restaurant? It's never going to happen. But somehow homemade soup beans & cornbread is a whole other ball game for him. 

Maybe it is the nostalgia factor. I think most of us (at least most of here in West Virginia) grew up eating some variation of soup beans. In fact, many local diners and family owned restaurants around here often have a daily special of soup beans & cornbread on their menu board. 

And yes, I do think that the cornbread is essential, folks. I am not saying that you can't be perfectly content with a bowl of these soup beans and ham on their own, but the sweet cornbread just pairs so well with the creamy beans and the saltiness of the ham. 

It is definitely worth the extra 30 minutes or so to bake up a little homemade cornbread. This Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread recipe happens to be one of my personal favorites... :)

10 Family Approved Dinner Recipes

These tried and true 10 Family Approved Dinner Recipes are meals that my family asks for time and time again...

I know some of you all have to wonder every once in a while if food bloggers actually end up making and serving the recipes that they share on their blogs often or just a few times for recent development and testing and then we post it and are done with it. Well, I am here to tell you all that the answer is BOTH. 

There are definitely recipes- delicious recipes- that I have shared on here that I have only made a handful of times. It isn't that myself and my family didn't like them or that we wouldn't want to eat them again, but for some reason or another those particular recipes just didn't become family favorites. 

But then there are recipes, like these 10 Family Approved Dinner Recipes I am sharing with you all today, that my family asks for over and over again and that appear on my weekly plan more than once a month. Not only are these dinner recipes tried and true, but I know these will be the meals that my children will remember years later and ask for when they come home to visit from college (and probably beyond that)... ;)

Foodie on a Budget- Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

As a mother to a teenager and a newborn, time is pretty valuable.  So is saving money and staying on a budget.  Picking up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and breaking it down for recipes for the week used to be a pretty regular thing for me.  I was definitely saving time, and in my opinion, money.  Have you bought a whole cooker chicken lately? They usually cost as much if not more than the ready made rotisseries at your local grocery store.  What I didn't like about the grocery store roasted chickens is that I didn't really know what was in them.  How much salt and preservatives had they pumped into those things anyhow?


Then I discovered "roasted" chicken from the Crock Pot.  Actually by accident.  The evening I went into labor with my daughter, I had decided to start boiling a couple of large split chicken breasts that I could break down and use throughout the week for sandwiches and homemade chicken noodle soup.  My local Kroger had a great sale on Tyson split chicken breasts (99 cents a pound!) that week.  A half hour into cooking the chicken, my contractions went to 3 minutes apart!  So, my mom threw the chicken into a container and into the fridge.  The day we came home from the hospital, my mom stopped at our house that morning and put the partially cooked chicken breasts in the Crock Pot to finish.  We came home to chicken with a nice crisp on the skin, moist and juicy on the inside, and that fell off the bone, making breaking it down incredibly easy and quick.  I have cooked large split chicken breasts this way 3 times now since we brought our baby girl home, and I have been able to make quick, delicious, and healthy dinners and sandwiches from it for 3 adults for an entire week.


So here is all that you need to make it:

Yep, that is it. A Crock Pot, chicken broth (I use the Kroger Private Selection Organic chicken broth- less than $2 a carton), and a pack of two large split chicken breasts (I always stock up on them when the local Kroger's has their 99 cents sale- the package pictured was only a little over $2!).

Just pour a little chicken broth in the bottom of the Crock Pot. I do this to keep the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the Crock Pot, and to keep the meat moist. I used about 2/3 cup.  Put the chicken in the Crock Pot, skin side up and cover and cook on low for about 5-6 hours.  

Once the chicken is cooked, I turn off the Crock Pot and let the chicken set until it is cool enough to handle.  Then I place the chicken breasts on a cutting board, remove the skin, and break off the meat from the bones in large chunks, and then chop! 

You can use one of the large breasts immediately for dinner (like I did for my husband and I last night) and then refrigerate the rest to use for recipes the rest of the week like chicken salad or a couple of my favorites:
Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie
Avogolemono Soup

12 Healthy & Comforting Soups

Not only are these 12 Healthy & Comforting Soups better for you & packed with the good stuff, but they are also hearty & comforting at the same time...

The colder temperatures have finally started to settle in around here.  With temperatures in the 60's & 70's over Christmas weekend, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to be able to break out my cute winter sweaters and cozy scarves. ;) 

But it seems that winter has finally caught up with us here in the mountain state & just in time for the new year. Time to cozy up with a warm bowl of comforting soup now that it is finally cold enough to.

I know healthy isn't usually the first thing that people think of when they think of a big warm bowl of comfort food, but who says that comfort food can't also help you reach those healthier eating goals for the new year? 

Not these 12 Healthy & Comforting Soups I have rounded up from some of my favorite food blogs! :) That's right, folks. A dozen homemade soup recipes that are not only healthy, better for you, and packed with the good stuff, but that are also hearty and comforting at the same time...

12 Easy Weeknight Chicken Dinners

If you happen to be looking for new chicken recipe ideas that will shake up that usual weeknight dinner plan, then this collection of 12 Easy Weeknight Chicken Dinners is definitely for you...

We all know that when it comes to making a dinner plan for the week or month that chicken is always a safe go-to option. Pretty much every member of the family loves chicken, and it is usually a budget friendly choice as well. But chicken can get, well... boring.  Especially if you just keep making grilled or breaded chicken breasts week after week. 

I run into this same predicament myself often when trying to plan my family's meal plan each week. So I decided that enough was enough, and I scoured some of my favorite recipe sites and food blogs to find a few new chicken dinner ideas that were not only tasty & different but easy and quick as well. And when I say quick, I am saying that just about all of these chicken dinner recipes can be on your dinner table in 45 minutes or less. 

Whether you are looking to jazz up your usual ho-hum meal plan or just love finding new and delicious ways to prepare chicken, then you are sure to find a recipe (or two or three!) that will soon become a new dinnertime favorite in this collection of 12 Easy Weeknight Chicken Dinners...

Making Small Batch Homemade Chicken Broth

Inspired by a post from Budget Bytes on how to make your own chicken broth, I decided to finally dive head first into making my own.  This is something that I have been wanting to try for myself for a little while now.  You could say it has been on my foodie bucket list.  (I keep talking about this foodie bucket list of mine.  Maybe I need to do a post on it soon. ;) )  For the longest time, the thought of making chicken broth from scratch was daunting to me.  Why go through the effort when I could so easily pick up a carton of organic chicken broth at the grocery store?  But then as I read the Budget Bytes post, it occurred to me that it wasn't as complicated as I had been making it out to be.  My recipe below is adjusted slightly from the Budget Bytes recipe.  I didn't have an entire chicken of bones to use.  Just two large chicken breasts, so I adjusted the recipe for a small batch.  All in all, my recipe made 4 cups of finished chicken broth- perfect for say a chowder or a some homemade chicken noodle soup.  (Ahem... recipes for both are forthcoming. ;) )

What you will need:

Skin/Bones/Cartilage from 2 large chicken breasts

Skins/peelings from 1 large onion, plus 2-3 slices of the onion

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

The tops & leaves of 2-3 celery stalks

2-3 large sprigs of fresh parsley

9 cups of water 

(If you happen to have any carrot peelings or tops, you could add those too.)

* Make sure all the veggies scraps are well washed.  You don't want any dirt or grit in your broth!

This is what I had left ^^^ after I had roasted two large chicken breasts in my Crock Pot and had removed the meat from the bones.  To see my recipe for slow cooker roast chicken, CLICK HERE.  I dumped all of this (what I would normally just toss into the trash) into a dutch oven.  And then added all the veggie peelings, skins, tops, leaves, etc.  

Cover it all with 9 cups of cold water.  Bring all of this to boil, and then turn down the heat and allow the mixture to simmer covered for 4-5 hours.  Just walk away.  You do not need to come back and stir it.  Just let all the yummy goodness from the chicken bones, cartilage, the onions, celery, garlic, parsley, all of that simmer and marry.

After 4-5 hours, this ^^^ is what you will be left with.  (Well, this and an awesome smelling house! ;) )

Place a large bowl under a colander and drain the whole pot.  All the chicken broth goodness will go into the large bowl.  All the veggie peelings and chicken parts will stay in the colander.  Now you can toss all of that in the trash.

Using a fine mesh strainer or a piece of cheesecloth, pour the broth through again.  (Make sure you have a bowl underneath!)  This will catch any of the little pieces of bone and grit the large colander may have missed the first time.

And there you go!  Your very own homemade chicken broth! :)

You can refrigerate your broth and use it within a couple of days, or do like I did and freeze the broth to use later.  I allowed the broth to cool a bit and then poured the broth into 2 quart sized freezer bags, 2 cups in each bag.  Then I just put them in the freezer.  

If you happen to roast a whole chicken, you can hop on over to the Budget Bytes blog HERE and use her recipe for a larger batch (12 cups) of homemade chicken broth.  
I am already saving my veggie scraps and freezing them now for my next batch of chicken broth.

Be looking for recipes later this week and next that you can use your new homemade golden yummy chicken broth in... ;)

Coconut Curry Tomato Soup

 A classic favorite comfort food gets a delicious update with the addition of Indian & Thai-inspired flavors in this easy to make Coconut Curry Tomato Soup...

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Dating someone who used to own a British/Indian fusion restaurant certainly has its advantages. Not only can he cook homemade Indian food like nobody's business, but he has been providing me with a whole new world of recipe inspiration for the blog.

I haven't experimented very much with Indian flavors or curries on the blog yet even though I have been a fan of Indian cuisine for decades now. I have always found the idea of cooking Indian food from scratch a bit daunting and intimidating, to be honest.

If you find yourself feeling the same way about trying your hand at Indian cooking at home, then today's recipe for this Coconut Curry Tomato Soup is the perfect way for you to dip your toes into the waters of homemade Indian cuisine. 

This flavorful soup requires no complicated cooking techniques, is made from ingredients that are easy to find, and can be on your dinner table in less than 30 minutes...