My daughter and son-in-law caught a bad cold about a month ago. They both missed two days of work. I watched my toddler grandchildren while they recuperated. I asked my daughter if there was anything she needed from the store and one of the main items was chicken noodle soup. She wanted something warm and soothing on her throat.

I was surprised that only three small cans were left at the grocery store. (This was right before the virus-rush binge shopping.) She appreciated the soup.

A few days ago, a local pantry reported an urgent need for food. One of the specific items requested was chicken noodle soup. My sister was headed to one of the grocery stores that sell in large quantities.

She told me, “Yeah, good luck finding soup.” Yet she found a 12-pack of chicken soup. I asked her to buy it for me for the pantry.

With soups like this in short supply, I thought I’d share my chicken noodle soup recipe.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

1/2 to 1 cup chicken

4 cups chicken stock or chicken broth

2 cups water

2 cups egg noodles

2 carrots

1 bay leaf

Pepper

Cook desired amount of chicken in chicken stock or chicken broth if you have it on hand. (I used broth.) If not, you can use water and add 2 chicken bouillon cubes to enhance the flavor. I also added 2 cups of water to increase the amount of soup broth.

Cook chicken, covered, on medium heat for a simmering boil until done. Larger pieces take longer to cook. I cooked tenderloin-sized chicken for 40-45 minutes.

Slice the carrots and set aside.

Remove the chicken from the broth with tongs. Add carrots to the simmering broth along with a bay leaf.

Shred the chicken once it cools a bit—maybe 5 minutes. Then add it to the broth. Stir in the egg noodles and cover. Cook about 10 minutes or until the noodles are desired texture. Pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

This makes 4 servings.

My husband loves meaty soups so I used 1 cup of chicken. A half cup of meat is plenty for me. He’s a plain eater, so I keep the ingredients simple. Add more egg noodles, broth, or water to stretch the number of servings.

You can sauté onion in butter and cook this in the soup. Celery and garlic are also flavorful additions. Modify it to your taste—that’s the great thing about soup!

If the shelves continue to be empty of soup, here are some other soup recipes: Chicken Gumbo Soup, Meatless Tomato Soup, Mulligan Stew, Cream of Cucumber Soup, Cream of Asparagus Soup, and Cream of Carrot Soup.

Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart