Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onion (from about 1 medium/small onion)
1 cup diced celery (from about 2 ribs celery)
6 cups chicken stock OR 6 cups water and 2 Tbs. "Better Than Boullion" chicken stock base.
1-1/2 c. cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups fine egg noodles

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Directions

1. Add carrots, onions and celery to oil in a large stockpot on medium-high heat. Stir and cook vegetables until the onions are slightly translucent and vegetables have softened slightly, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock OR water and "Better Than Boullion". Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
3. Once soup boils, add noodles and cook according to package directions until noodles are done. Stir in cooked chicken for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking so it warms completely.
4. Depending on how much water the noodles soak up, you may want to add one more cup before serving. 
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Makes 3-4 main dish or 8 appetizer servings.

Good to know

This is a nice way to use leftover chicken from my "Low and Slow" recipe here.

If you have leftover cooked chicken, this makes a meal in under 10 minutes. If using a frozen chicken breast, thaw it slightly using your microwave's defrost cycle, slice thin and saute until no longer pink (2-5 minutes) before adding to your soup near the end of the cooking time.

Adding the chicken at the end prevents it from overcooking. If you use dark meat chicken however, you can add it when you put the noodles in the soup; the extra fat and connective tissue in dark meat make it far less susceptible to overcooking.

If you've ever wondered what to do with the leafy tops of your celery, this is the place to use them. In the photo above, I've washed the top of the bunch of celery and chopped what I needed right off the end. The celery leaves look nice floating on top of the soup, and add another layer of flavor. Added bonus: a short bunch of celery is easier to store in the fridge!