8 servings eaten over 1 dinner and 1 lunch
Another way to do budget right is making once and eating twice - once for dinner and again for lunch. Soups are the perfect type of meals to scale up (and really you should always be scaling, because they freeze well and are cheaper and healthier than the canned variety). Chicken noodle is one of our favorites because it uses commonly available ingredients and will comfort everybody you serve it to.
INGREDIENTS
- Rotisserie chicken, shredded - 1/2
- Garlic, minced - 4 cloves Onions (large), diced - 1
- Celery, diced - 3 ribs
- Carrots, diced - 5
- Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
- Bay leaves - 2
- Chicken stock - 8 cups
- Pasta, uncooked (like elbows, shells) - 2 cups
- Parmesan (opt) - for serving
PREP
- Rotisserie chicken | If not already done, take meat off the bone and shred. Use knife and fork or just hands. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
- Garlic / Onions / Celery / Carrots | Prep as directed.
MAKE
- Place rotisserie chicken, garlic, onions, celery, carrots, Italian seasoning, Bay leaves, and chicken stock in a slow cooker. Cook on low for ~6 hours. (If not cooking in slow cooker, heat up a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add some cooking oil and then garlic, onions, celery, and carrots to heated oil and saute for ~3 minutes. Add in Italian seasoning, Bay leaf, stock, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for ~15 minutes.)
- Cook pasta according to package instructions in a separate saucepan.
- When soup is done, fold cooked pasta into soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. If you have salsa leftover from earlier in the week, you can also use it to season the soup. Enjoy warm with parmesan (if using).