Creamy Chicken N Noodles

January 17th, 2016

As it is the middle of January and colder than it has been all winter, only one thing came to mind for supper…Chicken and Noodle Soup. Now, I haven’t made this soup in over a year because to be honest my husband is not all that crazy about it. I knew he was thinking, “Chicken and Noodles, really? Can’t we fix something a little more exciting.” I was determined to do what I had to in order to win him over on this recipe.

I always love the initial sautéing of those brightly colored vegetables, and it always smells so darn good!  Now in order to get my recipe of chicken noodle soup into something my husband would ask for again, I wanted to make it creamier and add some “zip” to it. An issue I have come across in the past is I didn’t believe there was much flavor to my chicken noodle soup. So this time, I wanted to add a bit more seasonings including Creole. It may sound odd to add creole seasoning to chicken noodle soup, but believe me, it payed off!

Start this recipe by combing all the vegetables, and garlic and get those flavors mixing. And next you can add the broth and remaining seasonings. Another tip to get this recipe from just “okay” to “I’m going back for more,” is using the right chicken. I had leftover chicken from a whole chicken that I baked the night before. Having a good combination of white and dark meat from a bone in chicken kept the chicken moist and flavorful. Now it is time to get the stockpot to a boil and get those flavors mixing. Hold on… before moving on, I want to point out a tip I have learned. If you are like me, I don’t usually have leftover chicken like I did for this recipe, and I am not about to bake a whole chicken just for use in my chicken and noodles. Therefore, if you have some chicken breasts in the fridge to use, just pan fry them or bake them. An even better idea is to pick up a rotisserie chicken on your way home from work that is all ready to go! It’s a simple way to get this recipe done in a reasonable amount of time so you can have more time to relax after supper…which I am ALWAYS looking forward to.  However, in our house, that relaxing time turns into clean-up under the kids’ table, 3 baths to do, laundry, and….  🙂

Well, I am so excited to share this new and improved recipe with you all so I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!! My husband thought it was the best chicken and noodles he had ever tasted!

And for the moms, I will say my 3 year old ate it up, but my 1 and 2 year old wanted nothing to do with it because of the vegetables in it…peanut butter and jelly it is then!!

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken N Noodles

Ingredients

3 cups dry medium egg noodles
1 1b cooked shredded chicken
1-2 T olive oil
1 ½ t chopped onion flakes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 T parsley
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T creole seasoning
½ t garlic salt
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/3 cup half n half

Directions

Prepare noodles according to directions listed on package and drain. Start preparation of noodles about the time the chicken is added to pot as listed below.

In large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and saute until tender about 4 minutes, then add garlic and saute for about two minutes longer. Add chicken broth, parsley, bay leaves, creole, garlic salt, and salt & pepper to taste. Add shredded chicken and bring pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-medium and cover for about 10-15 minutes.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour while constantly stirring. Add in milk slowly, making sure to whisk vigorously to smooth out any lumps in your roux. Whisk in half n half and bring mixture to a boil, while constantly stirring. Then add milk mixture to soup mixture. Add egg noodles to soup and stir. I recommend letting soup simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

Source: 3 Scoops of Sugar