I had mentioned in my last blog that I poled the Centre on what people's comfort foods were and talked about my daughter’s comfort food of Mac & Cheese. This time around I chose Irene Ngo’s (second year Culinary Management and Nutrition student) "first food you eat after being sick comfort food:" Chicken Noodle Soup.

I had a great idea on Sunday. I didn’t feel like cooking so we picked up a rotisserie chicken from Sobeys for dinner and I decided to make stock from the carcass and use that and any leftover chicken as the base for my soup. I like to use my crock pot for making stock - it makes the right amount and cooks overnight, so in the morning the house smells great and I can get the soup going for dinner. If you do not have a crock pot you can still make the stock and soup in a large pot, but I would not let it cook over night or unattended. See below.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

For the Stock:
1 picked over Sobeys rotisserie chicken
8 cups (2L) water
2 cups (500 mL) onion, large dice
1 ½ cup (375 mL) carrot, large dice
1 cup (250 mL) celery, large dice
1 Bay leaf

For the Soup:
5 ½ cups (1375 mL) stock
1 cup (250 mL)onion, medium dice
1 cup (250 mL)carrot, medium dice
1 cup (250 mL) celery, medium dice
½ tsp(2.5 mL) dry thyme
1 cup (250 mL) chicken
½ cup (125 mL) capellini Noodles broken into 1 inch strips
1 cup (250 mL) Compliments Frozen Peas [0]
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. For the stock, put all ingredients into a large enough pot bring to a boil and simmer for 55 min. Strain out the bones and vegetables reserving the liquid.
2. For the soup, combine all ingredients except the chicken, peas and noodles into the pot put back on the heat bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cook for 25 min.
3. Add the chicken, peas and noodles and bring back up to a boil reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 more min. The soup is done when the noodles are cooked. Add the salt and pepper and enjoy.

Believe it or not I had snow on my car this morning! I know other parts of Canada have already had a lot more snow then I did but that’s news this was reality (for me anyway)! With the colder weather, cold and flu and other flu season upon us a little chicken soup can go a long way to keeping you healthy!

Regards
Chef Ian

Nutritional Analysis per Serving:
Energy: 160 cal
Protein: 12g
Fat: 3g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Carbohydrates: 19g
Fiber: 2g
Sodium: 450mg
Potassium: 424.72mg