Chicken Noodle Soup

As a busy person who likes to spend her spare time watching tv/playing video games/sleeping, I am always looking for meals that I can put on the stove and just trust that they will work. And I have found an amazing one! I was so incredibly happy about this soup...I can't...I can't even....IT'S SO GOOD! I'm going to be making this a lot winter quarter on those days when it's too cold to go to class and I'm wrapped in blankets next to the heater praying for warmer days. (You'd be surprised how many days become blanket-heater-praying days during winter quarter. Seems like I can't walk out the door without getting drenched. ) Because the last twowinter quarters have proven to be so ridiculously cold and miserable I am taking precautions this year. I have about 5 blankets, new rainboots, lots of sweatshirts, a new jacket, and winter soup recipes perfect for warming you up. But then of course I'm also preparing for spring quarter by bringing an enormous fan, shorts, and new tanktops.Anyway, that was a rant about the random weather in Santa Cruz, but the point of the story is: Soup is good. Soup is very. very. good.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Adapted from Take Thou Food

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 medium onions, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp flour

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

A couple sprigs of thyme (I used dried)

1 lb chicken, in bite sized pieces (I used thighs, but you can use whatever cut you like)

2 cups white wine

Chicken broth

In a large pot, preferably a dutch oven, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until they're soft, about 10 minutes.

When the veggies are done, turn the heat up to high and add the flour and chicken. Stir it around so that the flour coats the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside. Don't worry about it being cooked through, it's going to cook for a long time. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with the white wine and scrape all the brown tasty bits off the bottom. I like to turn the flame off when I pour the wine in. Hey, I'm attached to my eyebrows. Don't want to lose them in a tragic deglazing accident.

Pour in the chicken stock until it covers the veggies and chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and leave it along for 90 minutes. Here's where I go back under the blanket, grab a book, and thank the heater for being such a loyal friend. After the 90 minutes are up, apologize to your heater friend and go back to the kitchen. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes.

At this point, put some water to boil and cook up some pasta. Preferably a short pasta like macaroni. I prefer to cook the noodles outside of the soup because the pasta really absorbs a lot of water and can change the consistency of the broth. Also, gluten free pasta is very starchy and the starch will make it look all weird. When the pasta and the soup are both done, spoon a bit of pasta in the bottom of the bowl and pour soup on top. Stir it up and dig in! I served this with some toasted baguette from the bakery. YUMMY!

XOXO

Natalie