New England has had it rough this winter. First came the record-breaking amounts of snow, and now this intense, bone-chilling cold. The cold can insidiously get right down to your core if you stand outside for even five minutes! It’s only inevitable that sooner or later, someone will catch the sniffles, especially if you have a child in school.

During these times, you can’t beat the classic multipurpose Chicken Noodle Soup. I know that everyone has their favorite versions, but I would like to share my mom’s version today with all of you! It is now my kids’ favorite too. It just seems to make everything better 🙂 
This recipe is very simple to make. It takes about one and a half hours of cooking time, but once it’s on the stove, there isn’t much that you have to do except inhale the aromatic flavors and cuddle up in a blanket 🙂

One thing I do when I make this soup is make a large batch. It lasts 2-3 days in the fridge and it also freezes really well, which is perfect for when you really need it but don’t have time to make it. I usually use half the amount of soup I make and then freeze the rest in small individual containers for convenience.

This soup is especially gentle on the stomach, so it really helps if you are going through some sort of stomach bug. It’s also perfect to have when you have a cold that just doesn’t seem to go away. Be sure to give it a try, it is a very healthy low calorie soup and I hope you enjoy it the way my family does!

 Ingredients: 

Organic skinless chicken legs – 5 or 6 (about 1 lb)

Organic Carrots – 2 medium, finely diced

Organic Celery – 2 stalks, finely diced

Onion – ½ medium, finely diced

Tomatoes – 2 whole or ½ cup crushed tomatoes

Ginger – 2” piece peeled

Ditalini or any small shaped pasta – 1 ½ oz

Salt – 2 tsp

Ground black pepper – ½ tsp

Dried Oregano – ½ tsp

Directions: 

• Fill a large pot with at least 11-12 cups of water.
• Add the salt, chicken legs and piece of ginger to the pot.

• Cook on medium high without lid for about 10-15 min or so till there is whitish foam that floats on top.

• Skim the foam with a spoon and discard the foam.

• Keep removing the foam till no more foam comes up.

• After no more foam is being made, add the onion, celery and carrot and partially cover with lid. Lower the heat a bit to medium and cook for another 30-40 minutes. After that the chicken should be well cooked and literally falling off the bones.
• Using a pair of tongs take out the ginger and chicken on a plate. Let the chicken cool before shredding it. You can discard the ginger now.

• While the chicken is cooling, add the 2 tomatoes after making a couple of slits on top. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes.

• Take the tomatoes out and press them through a sieve with a ladle/spoon right on top of the pot so that only the juice gets into the soup but no peels (basically you just blanched the tomatoes in the soup). OR you can simply add ½ cup crushed tomatoes directly in the soup.

• Then add the shredded chicken, black pepper, oregano and the pasta. Cook for last 8-10 minutes or so.

• Enjoy with a Mozzarella Pesto Panini Sandwich or some bread!

Nutritional Content

Serving Size: 12-15 (depending upon size of bowl)

Per serving (based on 15 servings): 48 cal, Fat 0.9 g, Cholesterol 29 mg, Sodium 29 mg, Potassium 46.6 mg, Carbs 3.6 g, Protein 6.4 g, Vit A 11.3%