Tasty Tuesday: Southwest Chicken Noodle Soup

Omaha has been incredibly cold lately. I know it's winter, but it's really tough to get used to single digit temperatures and feeling actual pain on your cheeks and nose every time the wind blows when you spent Christmas in a place that was unseasonably warm.

It's usually not as cold in my hometown as it is in Nebraska, but this year was so weird. For example, Eric and I spent some time with my best friend, Kevin, and his boyfriend on Christmas Eve. We went out for coffee, and it was so nice that we sat outside without coats on to drink it. I think it was in the low 70s that day. In Omaha, however, there was a snowstorm on Christmas Eve that apparently dumped about 6.5 inches (according to online sources, anyway) in the area.

Anyway, my point is that I've been struggling to get used to the frigid temperatures this year.

One of the things I've been doing in an effort to embrace the cold (or at least deal with it) is eating a lot of soup.

I can eat soup all year, but it's especially comforting in the freezing winter months. Most of the time I rely on canned soup (I know, I know), but sometimes I like to make my own. (The Tortellini Soup I shared back in October is one of my favorites, and it's so simple!)

I actually came up with the idea for this soup after eating canned soup for lunch one day. The soup was a Southwest Chicken Noodle, and as I ate it I kept thinking, "This is really good, but I think I could actually make this myself."

So I did.

Now I'm not going to claim that my soup tastes exactly like the Campbell's soup because it doesn't. It was, however, pretty damn close. It was also delicious and very healthy.

A couple of things to note before I share the recipe:

This recipe calls for cooked and shredded chicken. You can either buy a rotisserie chicken from the store (I've never done this, but I always see this as an option on food blogs so I assume a lot of people do), or you can plan ahead and cook it before you start your soup. I put my chicken in the crockpot with 2 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of water, and a little sea salt and black pepper and cooked it on low for 6 hours (or you could cook it on high for about 3 hours). It was very tender and easy to shred. (This is my preferred method for making shredded chicken.)

The other thing I'd like to say is that I believe in seasoning soups, stews, and chilis very liberally, so I often taste and add more spices as the soup cooks. The amounts listed in the recipe are the amounts I started with, but I added more (and didn't measure it out). I think it's all personal preference, so this may be enough seasoning for you. I definitely recommend starting with these amounts and then adjusting to your tastes as it cooks. (And if you're not a fan of spicy food, you can seed the poblano peppers and start with half the amount of chipotle chili powder.)

I'm always really proud of myself when I come up with recipes on my own. I'm not a great enough cook to come up with really elaborate dishes, but I feel like I've come up with some pretty great meals without a recipe to guide me.

And this was no exception. I was so happy with the way this turned out that I couldn't wait to share it here!

Southwest Chicken Noodle Soup

A Divulge and Indulge original recipe.

Ingredient List:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 10 oz. can mild Rotel tomatoes and chilies with their juices
• 2 poblano peppers, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 8 oz. frozen corn
• 12 oz. egg noodles
• 8-10 cups chicken broth (I started with 8, but wound up adding about a cup or so more after the noodles had cooked.)
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 2 tsp onion powder

Instructions:

1.  Add the poblano peppers, red bell pepper, black beans, Rotel, corn, shredded chicken, garlic salt, black pepper, cumin, chipotle chili powder, onion powder, and chicken broth to a large, deep pot (or Dutch oven). Stir to combine.



2.  Cover and cook on low heat for approximately 3 hours. As the soup cooks, stir and taste occasionally. Add more seasoning if necessary.



3.  After about 3 hours, uncover and stir in the egg noodles.

4.  Turn the heat up to medium low, cover, and cook for an additional 10 minutes (or until the noodles are tender). Check the soup and add more broth if necessary.