Ok folks, I have hung on to this recipe for the past few years and only given it to a few select people, but I am now passing it on for more to enjoy! As you can probably tell, I have a serious love for food. I often have dreams that involve food and cooking. Some give me great recipe ideas like this soup, others are ridiculous and involve me making things like giant cheesecakes in kiddie swimming pools. I often wake up and try to write down the yummy sounding concoctions that my mind conjures in dreamland. This one turned out to be a hit and I have had several requests for it now that pumpkin season is under way! 

The days may still be warm, but the last day of summer passed by last week and the evenings have a cool, crisp hint of fall in the air! That means... soup season is upon us! I had my wisdom teeth removed a few weeks ago, so I got an early start on soup season. The idea to make this soup came to me in a sleepy haze while recovering the first weekend after bidding farewell to my molars. There is just something healing about a warm bowl of goodness! Adding zesty lemon to this soup gave a whole new meaning to chicken noodle soup.

Zesty Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup

• 2 quarts of chicken broth (homemade, boxed, or canned)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 celery ribs
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 leek trimmed and chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• A handful of fresh thyme sprigs (or 2 teaspoons dry)
• A handful of fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon dry)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bag of egg noodles
• Green onions and lemon zest for garnish

Chop veggies and herbs. If using fresh herbs, remove leaves from stems and chop oregano if the leaves are large. Set veggies and herbs aside for later use. 

Pour chicken broth into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Put chicken breasts in and cook on medium for 20 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts and transfer stock to another container and set aside. Chop chicken breasts. Note that they may not be cooked all the way through depending on the size of the breasts, but this is fine as you will be putting them back on the heat in just a bit.

Transfer chopped chicken to a bowl and pour in 1 cup of the chicken broth and the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Let this soak while you turn your attention to the veggies.

Heat your stock pot and throw in olive oil with the onion and celery. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes until onions start to become translucent.

Add leeks, carrots, herbs, bay leaves, and 1 cup of chicken broth. Simmer on medium low for about 8-10 minutes or until carrots start to become tender, but not too soft.

Add remaining chicken broth and heat through. Add egg noodles and let cook on medium heat until noodles are about halfway cooked through.

Add chicken (along with the broth and lemon juice it was soaking in) and continue to cook for an additional 15-20 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Garnish with chopped green onions and grated lemon zest and enjoy!

After putting off getting my wisdom teeth removed for many years, the time finally came when I couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer. In preparation, I stocked up on way too much apple sauce and decided to make a batch of soup. My tabasco peppers are finally beginning to ripen, so I decided to go with a tomato basil soup and kick it up a tad with a little heat!