Creamy Chicken & Noodles.....mmm mmm good!

Happy Friday! We made it through another week :-) Despite our little heat wave here this week in S. Cali I have been craving all of the fall comfort foods that I know and heart! I don't really like to use Campbell's canned soup too often because I prefer to make homemade soups from scratch; however, sometimes Campbell's is all that will do. This is a recipe I grew up with. My Mom would make this and I just crave it sometimes. It really is delicious and good! Your whole family will love this! You can swap the regular can of cream of chicken for the low sodium/ low fat version, but the flavor is not the same. It is worth it in this recipe to use the regular version and swap out the regular chicken broth for a low sodium broth. Here is all you need:

1 lb. ( I use between 1 lb and 1.5 lbs) chicken breast or you can use rotiserie chicken shredded
1 large family size (26 oz.) can of Cream of Chicken - or 3 of the regular small cans
1 box or 32 oz. chicken broth
1 box 14.5 oz. whole wheat farfalle
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
dash of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic

Finely dice your onion, celery and garlic. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of pepper. Add to a large pot with a dash (about a teaspoon) of extra virgin olive oil and stir often while they soften. This will take around 5 minutes on medium heat. Add about 2 cups of water - you do not want to add too much water to this so that it stays thick and creamy. Now add your broth and add your chicken. Cook on low/medium for about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from your broth and allow to cool enough so that you can shred it and add it back to the broth. Now you will turn the heat up and add your box of pasta (FarFalle) allow this to cook for about 10 minutes allowing the pasta to cook through. You will only want enough water to cover the pasta - you do not need or want too much water. After the pasta cooks though (about 9-10 minutes) You will add your large can of Cream of Chicken - or 3 small cans. Turn the heat to low stirring really well. Resist the urge to add more water, trust me here. You want this thicker and too soupy. Now you can leave it on low and allow it to cook for about 25 minutes. That's it! It will be nice, rich and creamy. You can add some sea salt and pepper to taste. My family loves this served with a slice of French bread.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend! Has anyone started their Christmas shopping yet? I usually like to have it done by Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holidays without having to shop. I will see you soon :-) Thanks for reading!