Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul

My friend Sarah (her husband Jim, really, as he is the family chef) turned me on to this great stuff called Better than Bouillon. And it really is. It is a paste, a concentrate of chicken broth, if you will. And it makes the best base for a soup. (It comes in a wide variety of flavors and styles, like beef, mushroom and vegan for my Veggie Friends. There are USDA Organic versions as well.) I really think that I have found my liquid gold.

Here is what I did to make my soup:

Follow the directions on the jar -- dissolve 6 tablespoons of the bouillon into 2 1/2 quarts of water. If this is too salty, as it was for me, keep adding water.

While soup base is simmering peel and dice 3-4 carrots and toss into the base, then dice up 1 chicken breast (already cooked -- I set asside some of the chicken I used to make the chicken salad last night) and toss that in as well. I love celery in my soup, but my kids do not. If I could I would add 2 celery stalks, peeled and diced. Simmer for about 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering add some pasta in another pot (about 1/2 of a 1lb box. I used the enriched Barilla macaroni). Once the noodles have been cooked, drain and add to the soup. At the last minute I decided to add in a handful of frozen peas to add some color.

This one was a hit!

(My friend Sarah just told me that Jim cooks his pasta right in with the soup so as to use and clean one less pot!)