A Cure of the Winter Blues - Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm a big soup person. I love soup, especially in the winter, because they are comforting, versatile, and lend well to leftovers.

One of my favorite soups to cook up is chicken noodle soup. Yes, yes, a standard classic, but I always found it to be so warm and inviting. In particular, I'm a fan of the Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Noodle Soup, which goes a little something like this:

(1) Coat two chicken breasts (she suggests with skin and bone, I tend to have boneless skinless chicken breasts in my freezer so I use that) in olive oil, generous helping of salt and black pepper. (I've recently become a fan of Giada's sea salt with lemon zest).

(2) Roast the chicken breasts in the oven at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (this is actually one of my favorite ways to just make chicken breast in general -- turns out quite moist!). After the chicken breasts are done (and at least somewhat cooled), shred or dice the chicken.

(3) About 10 minutes before the chicken breasts are done, heat to a simmer 2 quarts of chicken stock (Ina recommends homemade chicken stock... I often don't have this, so use good old store bought Swanson chicken stock).

(4) Once simmering, add in 1 cup of diced celery (approx 2 stalks), 1 cup of diced carrots (approx 3 carrots), and 2 cups of wide egg noodles (I often put in a bit more noodles because I love them). Cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.

(5) Add shredded/diced chicken breast into soup to heat through.

(6) Ladle up a large bowl and enjoy!

Ina also suggests adding parsley, but I often end up omitting this. You can also easily freeze this into serving size portions to save for a snowy day.