Week 5: Emergency Chicken Noodle Soup

8 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 onion, chopped

4-5 celery stalks, chopped

baby carrots, halved

1 cooked rotisserie chicken

1 tea thyme

1/2 tea sage

salt/pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 pkg frozen noodles, thawed

Place chicken broth, water, wine, onion, carrots, celery and spices in pot.  Turn on low.  Remove all skin and meat from rotisserie chicken.  Discard the skin. Cube or shred the chicken and place in the fridge.  Place the chicken carcass in the pot.  Cook on low for about 7-8 hours.  About an hour before you think the soup is done (it's finished when the vegetables become tender), remove the carcass and put the meat in.  The noodles can be added for the last 30 minutes.  Served with crackers, bread, grilled cheese....

This recipe was not planned for this week!  However, it became a necessity when I succumbed to the winter respiratory illness season!  Not really wanting much to eat except something that would soothe my throat and clear my sinuses, I decided on soup.  Now, I could have just opened a can...but my pantry was bare!  Since I had to go to the store anyways, I decided I would just spend a little extra time and buy the ingredients for this fresh, delicious concoction!

Some tips...The rotisserie chicken is a great addition to this soup.  So easy and it adds just a bit more flavor!  If you wanted to use chicken breasts instead, cube them and place in the pot in the beginning with everything else.  I would recommend 3-4 breasts.  The onions, celery and carrots are not set in stone...keep chopping until you think you have enough!  The spices are also not set in stone.  Spices are very personal and differ from household to household!  More or less of any spice can be added here- however, I caution you.  Spices are amplified in the crock pot.  If you have never made chicken soup before, start with these measurements and tinker later!  Also, if sage and thyme aren't for you, click on Robin's blog over to the right and she has a great chicken soup recipe that calls for garlic.  The parsley doesn't have to be fresh.  You can substitute with dried parsley, just use about 1/3 of the amount.  You can use any noodles, spaghetti, stars, spirals...any pasta will do.  I prefer the Grandma's Frozen Noodles.  They taste more like dumplings than noodles to me.  Whichever pasta you use will soak up some of the broth.  The measurements above should keep you "soupy", but if you notice too much of the broth is disappearing, just add more.  You can also pre-cook the noodles and add them right before serving.  This recipe makes a ton- but freezes very well.

The best thing about this recipe when you're feeling under the weather?  Turn the crock pot on, take some more cold medicine, and go back to bed!  It will be waiting for you when you wake up!  Here's to good health the rest of the winter!!