Chicken noodle soup

Every once in awhile, having a good chicken noodle soup is awesome. It's still pretty cold here in Milwaukee, so it definitely hit the spot last week. This recipe only takes 30 minutes, so it isn't a fantasic soup (I find really good ones take a few hours), but it still tastes great! It was also fantastic for leftovers!

I love to do what I can to prep my meals. I try to tell myself I'm going to prep for the whole week after I get home from the store, but sometimes, that just doesn't happen. This picture is from the night we made the Caprese lasagna roll ups. I had 30 minutes while they were in the oven, so took the time to prep the chicken and veggies so I could just throw together the soup when we got home the next day as we were going to be very busy.

The final product!

Chicken noodle soup-adapted from 5 Ingredient, 15 Minutes Recipes by Weight Watchers

Total time: 30 minutes

Serves 6

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/3 cup celery, chopped
• 1/3 cup carrots, chopped
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked pasta of your choice (I used medium shells)

Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add chicken, celery, carrots, onion, and black pepper. Cook for about 6 minutes or until chicken begins to brown and vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add pasta, reduce heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is done.

Tex-Mex Chicken Salad

I could not believe how unbelieveably good this chicken salad was. It's a Weight Watcher's recipe too, so if you follow the serving guidelines it's good for you as well! It's super fast and keeps well as leftovers too, so you could definitely make it at the beginning of the week for your lunch!

Tex-Mex Chicken Salad-adapted from Weight Watchers
Total Time: 25 Minutes
Serves 6

• 1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chicken in a casserole dish for about 25 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cumin and chili powder. Stir in the remainder of ingredients. You can chill for up to two hours for best results, but we ate it right away. 

Cheeseburger Soup

For some reason, I've always wanted to try a cheeseburger soup. I finally got around to it! It's a slow cooker recipe too, which is even better! And it's a slow cooker recipe where you actually prep more and it only needs to cook in the slow cooker for about 2 hours!

Cheeseburger Soup-adapted from WeightWatchers
Total Time: 2 hours
Serves 8

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1 cup low-fat evaporated milk
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Saute garlic, onion and celery until tender, about 5 minutes. Place into a lightly greased 5-quart slow cooker.

In the same skillet, brown the ground beef. Pour off any grase and add to the slow cooker.

In a small bowl, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free. Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet, and pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 2 hours. Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.