I don’t know about you but this weather just screams for warm, hearty soups and stews.  I love coming in from the cold to a piping hot bowl of soup to warm me up.

Or better yet, curling up on the couch in some comfy clothes and blankets with a mug of warm chicken noodle soup.  And that’s exactly what I did this past weekend.

As the soup simmered in the crock pot all day, the entire house became consumed with its aroma so when Dave got home from work, I was more than ready to dig in.  We both helped ourselves to large bowls of the chicken soup and Dave even gave me his seal of approval!

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups baby carrots, chopped

4 celery ribs, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1 10.75 oz cream of chicken soup*

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

Salt, to taste

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 1/2 cups egg noodles, not cooked

Directions:

1.  Place carrots, celery and onion in the crock pot.

2.  Add next 9 ingredients, though salt, and mix thoroughly.

3.  Cover with lid and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

4.  In the meantime, there is no need to stir or take off the lid so you may run an errand, go to work, clean the house, fold laundry, etc.  Or follow Mac’s lead and take a nap.

5.  Stir in chicken and noodles.  Cover and cook for an additional hour.  Once noodles are softened, ladle into bowls and dig in!

*I used healthier version of Cream of Chicken soup and it really stepped up the flavor of the soup without compromising the traditional chicken soup flavor, all with less than half the calories than regular Cream of Chicken soup.

If you’re new to cooking or are a little intimidated to try certain recipes, soup is one thing that is virtually foolproof and very difficult to mess up so give it a try!

-Lauren