Healthy food doesn’t need to be restricted to when you’re feeling under the weather and crockpot chicken noodle soup is one fantastic hybrid food. It helps you heal faster when you’re sick, but it’s yummy enough to enjoy whenever the need for mouthwatering food strikes.
The origins of the crock-pot
Although the crock-pot gained kitchen fame in the ’70s, its patent was actually given in the ’40s to Irving Nachumsohn. It gained popularity due to the increased number of women joining the workforce in the 1970s. This left them with less time to cook hearty meals for their families. Food combinations like the crockpot chicken noodle soup and other flavoursome dishes were made by simply by adding all the ingredients into one pot and letting everything slow cook. This left more time to attend to other household duties and the balancing act of working woman and homemaker became easier.
Many healing perks can be gleaned from crockpot chicken noodle soup. Even though it’s a hearty meal that excites winter palettes, strangely enough, it still falls into the category of sick food, thus a seasonal trend. The anti-inflammatory benefits found in both the chicken and garlic along with the nasal cleansing properties of salt, give the crockpot chicken noodle soup it’s Florence Nightingale status.
How crockpot chicken noodle soup is made
Some recipes vary according to taste, but the classic crockpot chicken noodle soup is made using egg noodles, skinless chicken breasts, minced garlic, celery, onions, carrots, bay leaf and chicken broth. Other vegetables like cabbage and potatoes can also be added to thicken the broth and give it an earthy flavour. Some cooks take the optional route of sauteing the vegetables before adding them to the crockpot and also flash frying the chicken. However, the easier option is to add all the ingredients, including thyme and rosemary – dried or fresh – along with salt and black pepper into the crockpot to let everything cook for up to 8 hours. Noodles are added into the dish in the last 10 to 15 minutes after the sprigs of thyme and rosemary and the bay leaf have been removed.
This dish is a hearty meal on its own but does pair well with a slice of fresh grain bread to dip into crockpot chicken noodle soup. Alternatively, you can pour this hearty soup into the middle of a nest of sweet potato mash.
Additions to finger-licking goodness
Crockpot chicken noodle soup is not the only type of crockpot meal that you can enjoy as various restaurants make different versions.
If your stomach is guiding the way and you cannot imagine another day without the yummy taste of slow-cooked food, then try the sesame lion’s mane crockpot dish at Gomama.
