Silky Chicken Noodle Soup!

When someone in my family is sick or under the weather, I make soup.  I am sure I have an old Jewish grandmother in me trying to get out or something.  I usually make chicken soup or potato soup and sometimes clam chowder.  This soup has gotten my son through everything from a bad cold, numerous strep throats, broken fingers to broken hearts.  Yesterday, I had a call for the soup so I got my big soup pot out and got to cookin'. 

You know how they tell you that you have to boil a big ole whole chicken for good chicken soup?  It's not really true.  You can use chicken breasts and other seasonings and still get a good chicken soup. 

 Here is what you will need:

4-5 chicken breasts

10 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes

2 packets Swanson Flavor Boost Chicken Flavor

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tsps. Lawry's poultry and chicken rub

3 stalks celery with leaves

1 whole onion

8 oz. wide egg noodles

2 cups half and half cream

Take 4 -5 chicken breasts, 10 cups water, 3 stalks of celery with leaves still on and an onion cut in half in a stock pot or Dutch oven.  Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper.  You can use boneless chicken breasts or bone-in, you will just have to remove bones after it cooks.

Add 3 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes and 2 Swanson Flavor Boost chicken packets.  If you don't have Knorr and use the small bouillon cubes you will need to use about 6 of those.  Knorr is really best.  If you don't have the Swanson Flavor Boost use 2 extra Knorr bouillon cubes.  If you have homemade frozen chicken broth you can add 3 cups instead of this bouillon.  Sometimes I make broth and freeze it ahead.

Bring this to a boil and then reduce to simmer.  Simmer for at least an hour.  Remove chicken to a plate to cool.  Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer.  Pour the clear broth back into the stock pot and add 1 can of cream of chicken soup.  Whisk with a wire whisk to break it down and bring this to a boil. 

Add 2 tsp. Lawry's Chicken and Poultry Rub, if you don't have this (you must get some because it makes all the difference in the world), but you can substitute 1 tsp. poultry seasoning and 1 tsp. curry powder.

Once it boils add 8 - 10 oz. wide egg noodles.  I usually add about 1/2 of a 16 oz. bag. Shred or chop the chicken into bit size pieces and add it back to the pot.  Bring it back up to a boil then turn it down to low and cover so the noodles and chicken just simmer for about 20 minutes. 

At the end add 2 cups of half and half cream.  That is the silky in this soup and it makes it so delicious and smooth.   Do not let the soup come back to boiling once the cream has been added.  It should be kept on low heat.  If you are feeling really decadent, you can use 2 cups of cream instead of half and half, but the half and half works just as well.