Chicken Noodle Soup...with a soda on the side ;)

 Chicken noodle soup is good for the soul! Also good to sing about and dance too aaannnddd with a soda on the side! HA (I am super funny). But really, I have felt so crappy the past couple days and haven't had much of an appetite. When I don't feel well I love a big bowl of something comforting. I love chicken noodle soup but last night I roasted a chicken breast & some brussels with a bunch of random spices (because I need to go to the grocery store and that's all I had to eat) and thought chicken noodle soup...with roasted chicken!! This could be how people have been making homemade chicken noodle soup for ages but I felt like I had struck gold in my thought process!! 

Here is the cast of characters that I needed for the production:
Boneless skinless chicken tenders - you could absolutely use breasts but tenders seem easier to shred
32 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Whole Grain Pasta  - I used rotini but you can use whatever pasta your heart desires.
Carrots
Celery 
Water (not pictured)
1 Bay Leaf
Juice of one lemon
Onion
Garlic 
Spices for roasting the chicken (see below)

For my tenders I just threw a bunch of spices that I had in the pantry in a bowl

Garlic salt - Cayenne - Oregano - Chili Powder - Cumin - Salt & Pepper

Line a baking sheet with some parchment to make clean up a little easier and then drizzle a little olive oil & cover the tenders with your spice mixture. Roast your tenders at 375 for about 25-30 minutes and flip the tenders half way through.

Next cut up your veggies - I love carrots so I tried to keep the chunks pretty big. On the other hand I DO NOT like celery but I know it is essential in Chicken Noodle Soup so I tried to cut them as small as possible. Dice up the onion and then lots and lots of garlic. (garlic makes my heart SO happy)

Add the veggies to a large pot with a little bit of olive oil and saute for about 10 minutes.

While your veggies are getting nice and yummy soft you can go ahead and cook the pasta. You could absolutely cook the pasta in the soup. However, I am making this with the thoughts of having it for lunch for the next few days and cooking the pasta separately allow you to add it to the soup as you eat it and it wont get soggy. No one likes soggy chicken noodle soup!

After 10 or so minutes sauteing your mis en plase (Im so fancyyyyy you already know - aka onions|celery|carrots) add the garlic and let that become fragrant. It should take about 2 minutes. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Burnt garlic is gross.

Add the whole carton of chicken stock + 4 cups of water. I had some vegetable broth in the fridge that needed to be used so I used 2 cups of water + 2 cups of the veggie broth. Add in the bay leaf and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are nice and tender.

While the soup is coming together shred the chicken. Which by the way smells amazing and pulls together SO easily. Roasting the chicken with all the yummy spices really takes the soup up a notch I think because it gives a whole other layer of flavor in the soup.

Pour in the chicken with the juice of one whole lemon and a bunch of black pepper to finish the soup.

THIS SOUP GAVE ME LIFE Y'ALL!!! Really..it was so amazing!! I added a big tear of sourdough bread because you need it..right?! But really this soup has officially become my favorite Chicken Noodle Soup. It was a little spicy and hearty and light all at the same time...if that makes any sense?? All I know is you need to try this recipe!! I can definitely say that this soup is helping my nasty cold that I can't seem to shake! Chicken noodle soup on people...

[let it rain & clear it out]

XO.

Elizabeth