Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is super easy and super delicious. I have never, ever had to throw away a drop of this soup. It is just as amazing, if not more so, the next day. Serve this with an egg salad sandwich and you have an easy dinner that is ready is no time!

You will need some basic ingredients. One of the great things about this recipe is that you can adjust as needed. Don't like onions? Don't add them. Love carrots? Add extra! There are no real exact measurements, which is how I cook best. You will need: 1-1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, onion, celery, carrots, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, large can of chicken broth or stock, half and half (or whole milk), 1 bag of egg noodles and parsley. I usually use fresh flat leaf parsley, but my Kroger didn't have any. Weird, right?

You can cook the chicken breasts ahead of time if you want to, which would make this even faster. Usually I will brown them in a little butter and then cover with water to cook, but you can also just poach them in some salted water. When cooked through, set aside the chicken to cool.

While the chicken is cooking, you can chop vegetables. I used a whole onion, about 10 carrots, peeled and sliced and 8 ribs of celery including the leafy top part. Don't cut them super chunky because this will add to your cooking time.

Throw a few Tablespoons of butter in the bottom of a large stock pot. Add all of your vegetables. If you season your veggies, just remember that you are going to be adding chicken broth, so go lightly. Cook for a few minutes just to give them a little color.

Pour in 32 ounces of chicken broth or stock. If you didn't use as many vegetables, use less broth. Just eyeball it. I usually use a 32 oz. carton. Let your vegetables cook for 10 - 15 minutes.

Now it's time to add the 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, the chicken breasts that you cooked, shredded and parsley. Don't like parsley? Don't add it. No worries. Let this simmer together. While your soup is simmering, you will need to cook your egg noodles in a separate pot. If you cook them in your soup, they will suck up all the broth and you will end up with soggy noodles.

Taste your vegetables. Tender? Perfect. Now you will need to add the half and half, or whole milk. This makes the soup sooooo creamy. To die for. I usually add 2-3 cups of half and half, but you can add as much, or as little as you want. Add a little, taste it, add a little more, taste a little more... sigh happily. Bring back to a simmer.

Drain your egg noodles. If you want, you can add them all in to the pot, or you can toss the noodles with a small amount of olive oil (so they won't stick together) and just add them in as you go. I don't always like noodles in my soup, so I like to have the option of not adding them.

Serve with sandwiches, fresh french bread and butter or some cheese and crackers. Your whole family will love this easy, cozy, gloomy day soup. Enjoy!!