Look, I’m not a food snob.

I can throw down on fast food with the best of ‘em, and there is a big part of me that knows that a fresh plate of funnel cake is a fair delicacy not to be missed.

My freezer usually houses a box of pizza and some highly processed chicken nuggets and the obligatory open bag of french fries.
I do cook from scratch frequently, but I am also a working mom. I take the help where I can get it, and I don’t feel guilty about it.
Except when someone is sick.

And then? Well. Then I feel guilty about it.

(Notice how I didn’t say “then I am sure to cook from scratch.” In a family of five, there is no such thing as just one sick person in the house at a time. Usually we are experiencing several stages of the same illness on a single day. It’s a blessing when it is an upper respiratory virus rather than a GI infection, but I’m still not going to be in any mood to cook something complicated.)

I’m glad canned chicken soup exists, and I’ve certainly served it up plenty of times. But I have also looked for an easy, quick chicken soup recipe for years.

I wanted something that did not require me to stew a chicken the day before anyone got sick.

Predicting the future is a skill only my mother has, and I have found that crystal balls are expensive and don’t travel well.

So I was glad to discover these frozen noodles on the channel of one of my favorite YouTubers – Frugal Fit Mom. They seemed hearty and filling and perfect for a quick meal.

By the time I got them purchased, I had long forgotten which video mentioned them. Unfortunately, most of the chicken and noodle recipes I found online called for cream-of soups.

I know they have their place. I’m not judging them! But I also don’t really like them.

So I tracked down the video I’d watched originally and adapted it to work with what I had.

Mine ended up more like a thick stew than a chicken noodle soup because I used only 8 cups of broth.

I was fine with that but have included directions for a more traditional consistency as well in case you want a “real” soup.

SEMI-HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon oil or butter
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon garlic
8-12 cups chicken broth; I used reconstituted Better than Bouillon (8 for hardly any broth in the finished product; 12 for plenty of broth)
1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I used butterflied breasts)
Salt (about 1 teaspoon)
Pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme (1 teaspoon dried thyme if it’s not ground)
1 package Reames frozen noodles

Optional:
3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
3-4 stalks of celery, diced

Directions
■ Heat multi-cooker on saute mode. When inner pot is hot, add oil to pot and pour in diced onion. Add diced carrot and celery if using. Saute until onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Pour in chicken broth. Scrape up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add thyme and part of the salt and pepper. Taste broth and adjust seasonings to taste. Add chicken breasts to broth. Add lid and set valve to sealing.
■ Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes if your meat is thin (no thicker than half an inch); cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes if your meat is thicker. When time is up, allow at least a 10-minute natural release. Then release the remaining pressure by moving the valve to “vent.” Remove pressure cooking lid and remove chicken to a plate. Shred or dice chicken meat and return to pot. Change cook mode to Saute. Add noodles to liquid and chicken and cook according to package directions.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.

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