Chicken Noodle Soup

Simple and delicious, this soup was the favorite pre-game meal of my daughter's soccer team. I use the chicken breast from making the stock to complete the soup. Any size noodle works, but my favorite is organic ribbons. I often add bok choy to increase the nutritional benefits. Any dark green vegetable can be substituted, or you can omit this ingredient altogether.

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 carrot, sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

5 leaves bok choy (optional)

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups cooked noodles

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh marjoram, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 30 minutes Makes 6 big bowls of soup

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft. Add carrot and celery and continue sauteing. Cut white part of bok choy leaves into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll dark green part of leaves, slice into thin strips, and set aside. Add white part of bok choy to onion-carrot-celery mixture. Add stock, chicken, and noodles, and increase the heat until soup comes to a boil. Turn heat off or remove pot from stove, add fresh herbs and strips of bok choy, cover, and let sit 15 minutes. Taste soup; add salt and/or freshly ground pepper to bring up the flavor.