As you know, our family was visited by Cold and Flu over the holiday season. Yep, no fun, but we let them know they’d worn out their welcome by cooking up several pots of Chicken Noodle Soup. I changed it up a bit by pulling out my pressure cooker to speed up the process.

Pressure cooking has made a big comeback. The new models are super safe and easy to use. Not so, in days past. I can remember my mom using one. She always warned us to stay out of the kitchen while her stovetop model hissed its way through the cooking process. From all the stories she told us, we expected the pot to explode each time she used it and leaving the bits of its contents clinging to the walls. It bred a healthy fear in me for sure, but when everyone started singing the praises of the newer models, I had to give one a try.

Up until I tried this recipe, I mostly used mine to get frozen chicken breasts cooked fast. I started with that in mind, but what I ended up with was a lovely Chicken Noodle Soup. It was quick and easy. If you don’t own a pressure cooker, no problem. Just throw everything except the noodles in a soup pot or slow cooker. I have found cooking the noodles separately and adding when serving works the best.

Oh, one other note. This recipe calls for the juice of a half lemon at the end. I have never done that before today, but this will be my practice from now on. It adds a slight lemon flavor along with the acid, which brightens up the whole dish. Try it and see.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 large onion
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups of chicken broth
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup broken spaghetti; you can use dried egg noodles here if you like.
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 tablespoons

Instructions

1. Place chicken breasts in the pressure cooker. Cut the onion in half and set aside one half. Cut remaining half into wedges and place on top of chicken. Cut one stalk of celery in half and add to the pot along with the bay leaf and chicken broth.
2. Secure lid. Close pressure-release valve. Select cook and adjust the time for 20 minutes. When the chicken has finished its cooking time, use the natural release to depressurize.
3. While the chicken is cooking, chop up the remaining half of onion, thinly slice the remaining celery stalks, and set aside.
4. Once pressure has released, use a slotted spoon to remove chicken from pot and place it on the cutting board. Remove onion, celery, and bay leaf from the liquid in the pot.
5. Add chopped onion, sliced celery, carrots, red bell pepper, mushrooms, spaghetti or egg noodles, garlic, salt, thyme, sage, and black pepper to the pot. Secure the lid and close the pressure-release valve.
6. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes. When cooking is complete, use quick release to depressurize.
7. Cube or shred the chicken breast and return to pot. Choose the sauté function and allow everything to heat through.
8. Stir in lemon juice just before serving.

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Good soup is a prime ingredient to good living.

Louis P. De Gouy

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WW Friends, If you are following Purple Plan, this recipe is zero Smart Points.