There is just something about a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a cold, dreary day.  I am not talking about a bowl of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, either.  Even though I have consumed my share of the the canned soup as a child, I have decided to move on from the “easy” to the “excellent” for the health of me and my family.  Just one glance at the ingredient list on the back of the canned soup will convince you that it is time to MOVE ON. Let me just mention a few:

• cooked mechanically separated chicken
• monosodium glutanate (MSG)
• flavoring
• soy protein isolate

As much as I like to prepare excellent, nourishing food – I like it to be easy to prepare as well.  I found this recipe and loved the fact that it was crock-pot based.  I have made it in my crock-pot and I have made it in my dutch oven, depending on my schedule for the day.

• 1 to 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 5 cups of chicken stock or broth (homemade is ideal but not necessary)
• One box of cream of chicken soup (not canned — I use Pacific because of it’s great ingredients)
• 1/2 cup each of celery, carrots, green onions (organic when possible)
• 1 cup of corn
• 2 cups of noodles (egg or your favorite shape)
• salt & pepper to taste (I used “white pepper” and it was yummy)

To make this in the crock pot, it is super simple.   Place all the ingredients, except the noodles, but including the uncooked chicken thighs, into a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.  About 1 hour before serving, shred the chicken (while in crock pot) and then add the noodles.  Adjust crock pot to high and let cook for one hour, till noodles are ready.  You can even put frozen chicken in the crock pot!

To prepare in a dutch oven, add the veggies to the pot and saute’ over medium heat for about 5 minutes so they soften a bit.  Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through and noodles are done. Turn heat down to low until you are ready to serve.

I have made this both ways and it is delicious!

Also, this makes pretty much so I sometimes freeze 1/2 for another meal.

If the soup is too thick, feel free to add additional chicken stock or water to reach the desired consistency.