Saturday's soup....

Last Saturday we had some family and dear friends over for dinner... I LOVE hosting events because having family/friends around makes me happy & I get to try some new recipes!
Since the weather is getting warm, but not warm enough for grilling yet I thought I would make some yummy soups. So we did a chili bar, some yummy bread and chicken noodle soup....This recipe is from MrstoMama's blog:
2 tablespoons of butter
2 medium size onion, peeled and chopped
8-12 carrots {I like carrots, so often times I use even more}, peeled and cut in small pieces {I like to pre-cook this}
1 stalk of celery {I like to pre-cook this with the carrots}
3-4 cooked chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 package of egg noodles {cooked}
2 49.5oz containers of chicken broth {or if you want low sodium, I like to just use 1 container, then fill the other one with just water}
2 tablespoons of dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
2-3 bay leaves Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
1. Put butter in the 3.5 gallon pot. Once melted, put in the onion. After a couple of minutes, and the onion has been browned, go ahead and add the rest of your veggies {I like to precook my carrots and celery, so that they are already softened prior to placing them in the large pot... but you can do either or}
2. Now add your chicken broth. You can either add both large cans, or I substituted mine with just 1 large can and then I fill that can with water {less sodium for the kiddo}. Sometimes I may go ahead and add another half a can of water, depending on how much of the chicken and veggies I use.
3. If you have pre-cooked your veggies, then you can now put in your cooked noodles and cooked chicken. If you have not, then cook on medium until the veggies are softened. Once softened, add your chicken and noodles {again, preferably cooked}.
4. Add your parsley, basil, bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Change your heat to the lowest setting, cover with lid, and let simmer. I like to let it simmer for 3 hours. Make sure to take out the bay leaves, do not eat them


Then I whipped up my MIL's Chili recipe:
1 lb. lean ground beef (browned and salt and peppered)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 can diced tomato (I used 2)
1 can tomato soup
1 can white beans (rinsed)
1 can chili beans
1 can black beans (rinsed for lower salt)
1 Tablespoons chili powder (I didnt, so I uded my Soul Seasoning)1 teaspoons sugar, pinch of red pepper flakes
*Then a set out sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, Frito's and tortilla chips for topping..... yum!!


Take Care-DCW