The Ultimate Comfort Food: Soup
By Cheryl Forberg, RD
Cans, boxes, cartons and packets – it’s easy to find convenient soups or soup mixes to create our favorite comfort food in minutes. But it really isn’t that hard to make your own soup, and the added benefit is the teasing scent of broth, vegetables and seasonings coming together in your own kitchen.
Even though it’s easy to buy stock or broth, I love making my own and freezing it in two-cup pouches. I always save the bones from a roasted chicken and simmer them in a pot with water. The bones usually have enough flavor that I don’t have to add anything else.
Like most recipes, the quality of the result is in the quality of the ingredients you use. Buy the best quality ingredients you can afford.
Gingery Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes 8 servings
For a vegetarian version, substitute small cubes of extra firm tofu for the chicken and use vegetable instead of chicken broth. I usually make a big batch so that I can freeze half to pull out for a last minute meal in a hurry.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon Melissa’s minced ginger root
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 teaspoon Melissa’s chopped garlic
4 cups fat free chicken broth
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut in ½ inch pieces (or use shredded leftover roast or barbecued chicken)
1 cup Melissa’s shucked edamame
1 cup Melissa’s cooked yakisoba noodles
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 4 minutes until soft and translucent. Add ginger and carrots and sauté one minute longer. Add garlic and sauté about one minute. Do not brown garlic.
Add broth and soy sauce and bring mixture to a boil. Add chicken and edamame and when mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 4 minutes, until chicken and edamame are cooked. Add noodles and soymilk; heat but do not boil.
Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve hot.
Cans, boxes, cartons and packets – it’s easy to find convenient soups or soup mixes to create our favorite comfort food in minutes. But it really isn’t that hard to make your own soup, and the added benefit is the teasing scent of broth, vegetables and seasonings coming together in your own kitchen.
Even though it’s easy to buy stock or broth, I love making my own and freezing it in two-cup pouches. I always save the bones from a roasted chicken and simmer them in a pot with water. The bones usually have enough flavor that I don’t have to add anything else.
Like most recipes, the quality of the result is in the quality of the ingredients you use. Buy the best quality ingredients you can afford.
Gingery Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes 8 servings
For a vegetarian version, substitute small cubes of extra firm tofu for the chicken and use vegetable instead of chicken broth. I usually make a big batch so that I can freeze half to pull out for a last minute meal in a hurry.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon Melissa’s minced ginger root
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 teaspoon Melissa’s chopped garlic
4 cups fat free chicken broth
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut in ½ inch pieces (or use shredded leftover roast or barbecued chicken)
1 cup Melissa’s shucked edamame
1 cup Melissa’s cooked yakisoba noodles
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 4 minutes until soft and translucent. Add ginger and carrots and sauté one minute longer. Add garlic and sauté about one minute. Do not brown garlic.
Add broth and soy sauce and bring mixture to a boil. Add chicken and edamame and when mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 4 minutes, until chicken and edamame are cooked. Add noodles and soymilk; heat but do not boil.
Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve hot.
