Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

Good news! You don't need to be down with the flu to enjoy a big bowl of delicious homemade chicken noodle soup. If you don't already have a great chicken noodle soup recipe, I'd like to share mine.

Let me start by saying that this is a recipe that takes many shortcuts in the interest of simplicity and speediness. But don't go thinking that because this is a quick and simple recipe that it's not stellar. On the contrary, its rich, full of flavor and sure to impress. In fact this recipe is part of a 4 part post that will show you how to take a store bought rotisserie chicken and stretch it out into 3 or 4 meals. You can remove the breasts and save them for other dishes as there will be plenty of dark meat and left over white meat for a good soup.

If you're worried about a chicken noodle soup that contains mostly dark meat, don't be. Not only does dark meat generally taste better, but it is also shown to have anti-angiogenesis properties. Anti-angiogenesis is the process of restricting new blood vessel growth to cancerous and fat cells. This process has been shown to be extremely effective in preventing cancers and the production of new fatty tissue. Cool.

There are a few things you need to be aware of though. Since we are using prepared chicken stock, you'll want to use a good one. The quality of your stock will make or break this recipe. Avoid powdered stocks and liquid concentrates and instead look for a good organic, free-range stock. Also, more importantly be sure to pay attention to the sodium content of the stock as many prepared stocks come packed with loads of salt.

Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 6-8

calories: 225 per serving

Ingredients:

2 quarts of high quality low-sodium chicken stock

1 rotisserie chicken, breasts removed

2 tbsp olive or canola oil

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2/3 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 cup whole grain noodles, any shape

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive or canola oil and sear the chicken on all sides for about 7-10 minutes total. Add the 2 quarts of stock and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes.


2. Remove the chicken from the stock and remove the skin. Remove all of the dark meat, any left over white meat and chop it into bite sized pieces (You should get about 2 cups of meat). Set aside until needed.


3. Strain the stock through a fine wire strainer or cheese cloth to remove any un-wanted chicken bits.


4. Pre-heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and celery and cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the thyme and cook for an additional minute or 2. Add the carrots, celery, peas, vinegar and noodles to the pot of broth. Continue simmering for a further 20 minutes.


5. Add the chicken meat, remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper if necessary.