Slow Cooked Chicken & Corn Noodle Soup

Most people make their chicken and corn soup out of chicken drums or thighs. Well I only had breast in the freezer so I used breast as a bit of a test and I must say, I'm impressed.

As some of you know via Facebook - I recently had to replace my slow cooker. This is the first meal cooked in the new one. I didn't follow a recipe, I made this up…threw it in the SC and hoped for the best… we were not disappointed!

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (kept whole, trimmed of fat)
• 1 x 420g can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 4 celery sticks, thinly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled, halved and chopped thinly
• ½ green capsicum, roughly chopped
• Half an onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tin corn kernels, liquid discarded or alternatively use a tin of creamed corn
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon of rock salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of fresh Cambodian cracked pepper (I guess any pepper will do as long as it is peppercorns, freshly cracked)
• 3 litres of chicken stock. I used 1 litre of chicken stock and 2 litres of water as I didn't want it too salty. I had already added the rock salt so was being overly cautious.

Method:

1. Place the chicken breast in the bottom of the slow cooker whole - do not cut as we will shred it later
2. Add the celery, carrot, onion, corn and capsicum to the slow cooker
3. Place the can of soup, the chicken stock and water along with the garlic, ginger salt & pepper into a large jug and mix well, then add to the slow cooker
4. Put a tea towel under the lid of the slow cooker and cook on either low for 6hrs OR auto for about 4hrs. Chicken can become dry in the slow cooker if left too long, or if cooked on high
5. Before serving, take the chicken breasts out with a slotted spoon and shred with a fork. Return to the slow cooker and stir
6. Also before serving, add noodles of your choice, cooked to packet instructions. I used vermicelli which only need to sit in boiled water for a few minutes. After a few minutes - and once they were soft - I placed the vermicelli into soup bowls and simply poured the soup on top of them.  D-E-L-icious  XD

Low FODMAP Fast Noodles with Vegetables

Today I was craving noodles for lunch so whipped up this low FODMAP soupy noodly dish which was amazingly yummy. No garlic or onion makes this a healthy meal suitable for IBS sufferers like me. The stock cube I used is Massel's 7 as I recently discovered is a low FODMAP stock. And I replaced my usual sauce of choice - soy - with gluten free Tamari. This serves 1 and takes a total of 15mins from preparation to the table.

Ingredients:

• ½ carrot, peeled and chopped
• 6 green beans, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of thinly sliced red capsicum
• 2 shallots (spring onions) only the green part - chopped
• ½ red chilli, seeds kept in, finely chopped
• 1cm square fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 Massel's 7 chicken stock cube
• 1 and ½ cups hot water (more if you want extra juice)
• Handful of noodles of your choice. I used flat rice noodles

Method:

1. In a medium sized pan, heat the oil and add the chilli & ginger. Stir fry for about 1min to release the flavours
2. Add the carrot and beans, stir fry for 2mins
3. Add the stock cube mixed with water and bring to the boil
4. Once boiling, add the noodles and reduce to simmer for about 5mins
5. Add the capsicum and simmer for a further 2mins
6. Just before serving, add the chopped shallots and Tamari sauce
7. At this step, you could add some cooked chicken or leftover beef if you're craving some meat
8. Serve in a deep soup bowl
9. The noodles will continue to soften and soak up the liquid, so if you want more liquid (as in a soup) add more as required…D-E-L-icious  XD

Chicken and Noodles - low FODMAP and gluten free

I've been adapting my favourite recipes to accommodate the fact that I now need to follow a low FODMAP diet because of my irritable bowel and lactose intolerance.

One of my favourite meals is chicken with noodles. I've always added chilli, garlic, onion and sauces to this dish, but today I made it totally low FODMAP.

I used Tamari instead of soy sauce. You will find Tamari in the health food section of your local supermarket. The other thing I changed is the stock cubes I use. Massels 7 are suitable for IBS sufferers and are considered low FODMAP because they contain no onion and garlic. Read more about Massels 7 here. This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 packet vermicelli rice noodles
• 200g chicken breast fillet
• 1 shallot (spring onion) but only the green part, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 Massels 7 chicken stock cube with water (as per instructions on packet)
• Splash of Tamari sauce

Method:

1. Cook the vermicelli noodles as per packet instructions. I find just placing them in a large bowl of boiling water with the stock cube cooks them without having to actually cook them on the stove
2. Steam the chicken until cooked through, turning once. Depending on the thickness, between 5 and 10 mins should do
3. Place the cooked noodles on a plate
4. Slice the cooked chicken breast and place on top
5. Garnish with the shallots and chilli and splash with Tamari... D-E-L-icious  XD