Scarlett's Simple, Hodge-Podge Soup

I've been meaning to post this... and other simple recipes I make. I tend to only post recipes from credible sources that I've actually tried...rather than the ones I whip up out of what's available. It's because I don't consider myself an expert... I wing it. Anyway - I noticed Compulsive Writer was looking for soup recipes and that motivated me to finally type it up. ;-)

This soup is something I throw together when "baby it's cold outside"... and/or I'm too tired to do anything else. The girls love it and so does my hubby. It's sort of a take of my Dad's soup... his soups are perfection...mine are like a little girl learning to write with chicken scratch. This soup is also more embellished from the soup my brother and I used to make when we lived as neighbors at the FLSR. Fond memories of going to college with my brother.

Scarlett's Simple, Hodge-Podge Soup
Serves 4-6
1 box Organic Chicken Broth (I buy the pack of boxes at Costco)
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 can Chicken Noodle
1 can Corn kernels (drain the water)
1 can Chinese mushrooms (optional - you know the cute ones that look like they're wearing hats?)
1 can of tuna (optional)
1/2 box of butterfly (farfalle) pasta, or what I prefer to use a package of 3 servings Japanese noodles (regular or buckwheat) or the Japanese Udon (course, you can use whatever pasta you prefer)
1 egg beaten in a separate bowl
Kosher salt (optional)
Freshly Ground Pepper
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Tabasco or Cholula (optional)
Left over chili (optional)

In a medium pot heat broth at medium high heat. Add cream of mushroom soup, chicken noodle. In a separate pot (or before you heat up the soup) cook the noodles per package instructions and drain. Set aside noodles.

When the cream of mushroom dissolves add corn, mushrooms, tuna. Bring soup to a boil and then slowly pour the beaten egg into the soup as you quickly stir the soup. It should cook quickly from the boiling water and give you that egg drop soup texture.

Add the noodles and pepper. Simmer for 5-10 minutes...depending on how soft you like your noodles.

Serve in the bowls. Add cheese, hot sauce and/or chili.

Cheese - because my girls love cheese.

Hot sauce because... my hubby and I love everything spicy.

So the chili story. I like to freeze the extra chili and then use it when I need a fast meal. Well - we had some left over from that quick meal in the fridge and I thought I'd just add a cold dollop (better than putting an ice cube to cool off the soup for my girls) of it on the bottom of the bowl and then ladle the hot soup over it. It was YUMMY. Course I know everyone's tastes are different. We're the type that like new things and are definitely not meat and potatoes ...but we love chili.