Ok this recipe doesn't fall into the ready in 30 minutes category, but what I love about it is how easy it is to make ahead of time. It's perfect for the days I know we will be getting home late. Throw the ingredients in the crockpot the night before, let it cook on low overnight and turn off first thing in the morning. Then, when you get home late all you have to do is heat the soup up and dinner is ready!
Ingredients
1 - 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme & rosemary if you don't have fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I usually skip the salt as the broth has lots of salt already)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon brand)
8 - 9 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces egg noodles (wide or extra wide)
Directions:
To the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker, add trimmed chicken breasts. Top with onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Drop chicken base over the top, then pour in chicken broth. Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (or HIGH for 3-4 hours).
Remove chicken from slow cooker to a large mixing bowl. Dice or shred the chicken and return shredded chicken back to slow cooker.
Add egg noodles, stir, then cover and cook on LOW for 10 minutes (until pasta is tender). Do not over cook the past or the egg noodles become very mushy! If you're making the soup overnight, I'll often just cook the pasta separately on the stove when I get home from work. Then you literally just have to heat the soup up and add cooked pasta when you're ready to serve dinner.
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