With a toddler and another one on the way, I don't have much time to spend thinking about what I am going to make each day and running to the grocery store constantly to make sure I have all of the needed ingredients. Since I'm also more of a Type A personality, I tend to get easily stressed out if I don't have a "plan" each week for what I'm going to make for dinner. I find that on days when I don't have a plan (or when I haven't thought ahead enough to, for example, soak some beans overnight or thaw some meat from the freezer the night before), this results in us ordering take-out or eating out because I don't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out what to make. Weekly meal plans have made cooking and shopping much more enjoyable for me and are a great asset if you want to make home-cooked meals but simply don't have much time in your day to spend thinking about all of the details (for instance, if you work a demanding job or have small children at home). With a plan for the week, I've managed to cut down on our grocery bill and reduce food waste because I only shop once a week and only buy ingredients that I know I am going to use.
Over these past few weeks I've been testing out my meal plans to see how well they work in practice. Sometimes I find that I need to tweak or rearrange a few things here and there (for example, I don't like eating pasta-based dishes more than once a week if I can avoid it and I try to include at least one dish that features some sort of seafood each week for all those brain-boosting omega-3s).
Last week, I had a little more time on my hands so I decided to take a break from my regular meal plans and try out a week of whole new dishes. And, boy, what a treat! I happened to find some really amazing recipes that are sure to become part of the rotation, including this amazing chicken noodle soup (from the blog Baker By Nature--you can access the original recipe here). Everyone loved it! Whatever you do, don't leave out the dill and lemon juice (I think the combination is what make this soup so amazing!).
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 very large onion, finely diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- Big pinch of salt
- (1) 32 oz containers chicken stock
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups noodles of your choice, I used gluten free elbows
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Place chicken tenders in a large baking dish lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with spices. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, flipping the chicken at the half way point. Once cooked, pull into small chunks using two forks.
- While the chicken is roasting, make the soup.
- Heat remaining oil in a large, heavy bottomed soup pan over a medium flame. Add carrots, celery, and onion, and cook - stirring occasionally - for 8-9 minutes. Add garlic and salt and cook for another minute before adding the bay leaf, water and chicken stock. Increase heat to high, bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, stir in noodles, and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and the pasta al dente. Stir in cooked chicken, dill, and lemon juice. Taste soup to adjust seasonings, then serve at once.
Notes
* You may cook the noodles in the broth (as instructed in the recipe), but if you plan to have a lot of leftovers, you may also choose to cook the noodles in a separate pot, them stir them into each bowl right before serving. This helps keep the noodles fresh and not soggy.
