Fideo & Chicken Soup with Queso Fresco

Just my luck. It is my last week of summer vacation and I am sick.  I have been feeling really lousy all week and Wednesday, I woke up feeling a teeny bit better. So I decided to go for a ride with my new clip-in shoes. Bad idea.  I got home, felt even more lousy and have had a fever that is coming and going ever since.

Soup to the rescue!!  

Have I mentioned I love soup? Yes, it might be a small addiction. Maybe I should change the blog to "The S's of Life: Soup and Sweat." hehehe. Okay, maybe a bit extreme.

Anywho - after feeling so icky, I decided to make a soup that I happened to buy ingredients for this past weekend.  I found this recipe in the August chapter of my Williams-Sonoma Soup of the Day cookbook.  It looked delicious and pretty simple.

Here's what you will need for this tasty soup:

Fideo & Chicken Soup with Queso Fresco 
(serves 6 - unless you are like me and eat it all yourself)

2 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 Tbsp olive soul
Salt & fresh ground pepper
1 white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 chipotle chili in adobo, minced (use the whole chili if you like the extra kick)
6 cups chicken broth (I used 4 cups broth, 2 cups water)
1/2 fideo noodles or vermicilli/angel hair pasta broken into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
3 oz queso fresco, crumbled

Let's get cooking...

I love that most of the ingredients are pantry staples. 

Chicken breasts were roasting for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

 I omitted the cilantro because, well... I didn't have any. 

And as lousy as I felt, I didn't want to go to the store.

 Chop & mince while the oil is heating in big ol' soup pot.

 Saute onion & garlic for 5 minutes, until translucent.

 Add in oregano, tomato paste & adobo chili to onion and garlic mixture.  

Let's take a moment: How cool is this tube of tomato paste?  No more wasting a whole can!

Hmmm..what am I going to do with all these chilis? I guess another recipe soon.

  Add the broth and bring to a boil (I chose broth & water to lower the sodium)

I love watching soup simmer! 

Add noodles & cooked chicken to broth mixture and let boil until noodles are done. My angel hair only took 4 minutes, but the recipe says 8 for fideo noodles. 

Stir a few times while the noodles cook, then salt & pepper to taste!

Since my mumbo jumbo directions probably are scattered, here's the exact recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put chicken breasts on baking sheet. Brush with 1 Tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast chicken in the oven until it is cooked through, about 20 minutes.   When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and set aside. 

2. In a large pot, warm 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, tomato paste and chipotle and stir well to combine. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook til soft. Add the shredded chicken and cilantro and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

3. Serve, top with avocado and crumbled queso fresco. 

 I think Williams-Sonoma would be very proud of how my soup compares to theirs.

 Muy delicioso!

Cheers,

Belle