This morning it hit me. It dawned on me that we are smack in the middle of November, and there's no turning back. The holidays are fast approaching, even if I'm not quite ready! I need to pull my plan of action together, and quick! For me, that starts with a simplified meal plan.
No matter how busy we all are, we still have to eat. And I know from experience that if I don't have a meal plan, even if it's just in my head, then our family is going to end up spending too much money at fast-food restaurants, eating questionable food that I know isn't good for us.
It doesn't have to be that way! Over the years I have come up with a bunch of ideas for super fast dinners that I fall back on when time is tight, or my regular plans don't work out. When I'm making up my grocery list for the week, I always include ingredients to make some of these 20 minute dinners. It's nice to have some of these things on hand to throw together a meal when needed. I make most of them just from memory - they are so simple that a recipe is usually not even required. I think at this busy time of year, that this is the perfect opportunity to share these ideas with you!
I'm kicking off this series of 20 Minute Dinners with one of our favorites - 20 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup.
The secret of making this soup taste like it simmered on the stove for hours is very simple - fresh garlic. You guys won't believe what a difference it makes! Don't even think about using garlic powder - the flavor won't be nearly as good.
Oh, and another thing I want to mention - did you know those noodles in these photos are gluten free? That's right! I buy these at a local asian market, and they are cheap - usually $1.50 or less per package. They're commonly known as "rice stick" noodles, and you can find them in several different sizes - from very skinny threads, to the wide noodles shown here. They are perfect for chicken noodle soup! You can just as easily use regular egg noodles if you don't need to make a gluten free meal. * I recently found some wide rice noodles at Wal-Mart called "rice fettucine". They are made by the brand Notta Pasta, and a 16 0z. box was under $2.00 - woo hoo!
The chicken shown here is diced chicken breast tenders. When chicken breasts are on sale, I like to stock up. One thing I do is dice up some of the chicken and store it in the freezer for future quick meals. It thaws and cooks much faster than whole chicken breasts. For this recipe the more finely you dice it up, the quicker your soup will be ready!
The other ingredients are really simple - chicken broth (canned works great, but if I have homemade on hand I use that), a carrot, a stalk of celery, and some dried parsley and dill. Then you just add salt and pepper to taste when it's done.
Please note - this is a pretty loose recipe. I usually make this by adding a little here, a little there until I like how it tastes. Sometimes I use more broth, and sometimes extra carrot sounds good - feel free to be creative!
Nothing could be more welcome on a cold, busy day than a big bowl of this comforting soup! It fits all my important categories for a winning meal - fast, cheap, healthy, delicious, and (in my case) gluten free. I hope you'll give it a try, and if you do, please let me know what you think!
20 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup
Chunks of chicken, carrots, celery, and garlic serve up homemade flavor in only 20 minutes, and it's gluten free, too! You can easily substitute cooked rice for the noodles for a delicious Chicken and Rice Soup.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 large servings
- Category: Main dish recipe
Ingredients
- I raw boneless skinless chicken breast (diced)
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth (or 29 ounces)
- 1 medium carrot (peeled and sliced)
- 1 medium stalk celery (diced)
- 1 clove medium garlic (crushed or minced)
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ dried dill
- ¼ ounce of a 16 package of wide noodles (or a big fistful :))
Instructions
- In a saucepan, stir together the chicken breast, chicken broth, carrot, celery, garlic, dried parsley, and dill. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook until noodles are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
This recipe is a guideline - feel free to add more or less of the ingredients as you like.
Note: You can replace the noodles with 1 cup of cooked brown rice, white rice, or wild rice blend with the same delicious results.
* this recipe was added to Gluten Free Wednesdays and Foodie Friends Friday
Espirational says
I like to use rice noodles in soup too. I always cook my turkey bones and make soup. That's actually the best part of Thanksgiving. :}
beneficialbento says
Me too! I really love making my own chicken (or turkey) stock!