Chicken Noodle Soup

Source: https://www.budgetbytes.com/chicken-noodle-soup/

 Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced 
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 tsp dried basil 
• ½ tsp dried thyme 
• 1 bay leaf 
• ¼ tsp black pepper 
• 1-3 tsp salt 
• 2 chicken breasts (can also use bone-in chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks)
• 8 c chicken broth (6 c also works for a chunkier soup)
• 6 oz dry egg noodles 

Instructions 

• Add olive oil to pot over medium heat. Cook onion, carrots, and celery until softened, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add garlic, dried basil, dried thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
• Add chicken breasts and cover with chicken broth.
• Cover pot with lid, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour. Note: If the heat is turned down too low and it is not bubbling away, the chicken will not shred easily.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and shred using two forks. Taste broth and season with additional salt, if needed. 
• Add egg noodles to the pot, turn the heat up to high, and boil the noodles until tender (about 7 minutes). Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste and season again with salt, if needed.
• Garnish with parsley.

Pasta Bolognese

 Source: https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/pasta-bolognese/

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery sticks, diced small
• 2 carrot sticks, peeled and diced small
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb lean ground beef (or do 1/2 beef, 1/2 turkey)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 c whole milk
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 16 oz Tagliatelle pasta or any pasta of choice
• Chopped parsley for serving

Instructions

• Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic, and sauté for 10 minutes until the vegetables soften.
• Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Break up beef and cook for 5 minutes, until browned and crumbled. stirring occasionally.
• Add milk and simmer for 10 minutes, until it has mostly evaporated, stirring occasionally, in order to tenderize beef.
• Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, oregano and nutmeg. Mix to combine, bring mixture to a boil, and then simmer on low uncovered for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
• Spoon Bolognese sauce over cooked pasta. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

• Reheat on stovetop over medium-low heat with a splash of water or milk, or warm up the pasta in the microwave.
• Freeze sauce without the pasta - will last up to 3 months frozen. Thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating and adding pasta.