I know how busy an average mom is and how easy it is to take short cuts and use ready made chicken stock or pop open a can of soup and heated in the microwave but I want to remind you to look at the nutritional label and check out sodium content. I do not want to make anyone feel bad just hope to encourage you to make it yourself. Making chicken soup is easy. If you have a hole chicken you can make it out of whole chicken if you only thighs it will work, too. To a large pot you will need to add the chicken, an onion, celery rib or two, and couple of carrots, bay leaf, few pepper corns, couple of garlic cloves, salt and bouquet garni or spoon of Mrs Dash type of seasoning. Cover with water and bring to a boil and as soon as it does, turn the heat way down, to the lowest position for about an hour. It is important not allow it to over boil, since that turns the stock to become cloudy. If you follow the directions and watch the soup as it gently comes to a boil and then cook on the lowest heat, that will create a beautiful clear stock. My mom calls it "clear as teardrops". From this point on our jobs are half done. The other way of making your stock is from a roasted chicken. Sometimes I like to get those roasted chicken from Costco. They are really good and ready to eat. I remove the meat from the bone and reserve the bones, skins and juices from the chicken in the tray they came in. Then, usually the next day I do almost the same with cooked bones as with raw chicken. I use a smaller pot, so I make a much smaller amount of stock, and I cook it on the low heat for about two hour and sometimes even longer, checking it, so it does not evaporate. The cartilage on the bone almost melts away and the bones become really soft. I pick of the remaining bits of meat off the bones for my soups. This stock does not loose in taste and flavor to the one from raw chicken and makes delicious soups.
Perhaps the easiest among soups is Chicken Noodle. I do not limit it only to the noodles and chicken, I sneak veggies in for my kids.
3 cups of stock (approx)
1 cup of cooked chopped chicken(either from the soup or left over from ready roasted chicken)
1 cup of sliced or shredded carrots
1 cup of sliced celery (approx 1-2 ribs)
1/2 lbs of pasta
I use all kinds of pasta not just noodles - it looks nice.
Put all ingredients in a pot and your soup is done when pasta and carrots are. About 10 min.
I like to add some chopped fresh green onions and parsley with dill. Kids don't seem to mind.
Minestrone is probably my favorite to make. I'm no Italian, but you don't have to be to make a good minestrone. Some say that minestrone is most popular dish in Italy, even above the pasta. I can believe that! I'm sure every family makes it their own special way. Pretty much all of the veggies I have in the fridge go in the soup plus tomato sauce and Italian seasoning with garlic. It is a perfect way to get the kids to eat veggies and chopping all of them, probably is the most difficult part. 
Often in minestrone there is some kind of beans which is not always in my version, because beans have to be soaked and cook for a long time. I do not always plan ahead all the time, and Soup happens spontaneously! I sometimes use lentils, because they take the same amount of cooking time as the vegetables. While lentils begin cook in the stock I start by sauteing chopped onions, then add celery and carrots, then zucchini, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, pepper, cauliflower and garlic. I rarely have all of these in the soup at the same time, half of the vegetables mentioned will do without any significant changes to taste of finished soup. Salt and pepper the vegetables and add some Italian seasonings and a dash of red pepper flakes. Now add the pasta and vegetables to the soup, as well as a can on cubed tomatoes or small can of tomato sauce. Chicken chunks can be added now and the soup brought to a boil and turned down for slow simmer for about 15-20 min with the lid on. Add fresh chopped garlic clove, couple of leaves of basil, few springs of parsley and oregano, then remove from the heat. I let it steep as it cools off for about another 20 min and then it is ready to be enjoyed.
Often in minestrone there is some kind of beans which is not always in my version, because beans have to be soaked and cook for a long time. I do not always plan ahead all the time, and Soup happens spontaneously! I sometimes use lentils, because they take the same amount of cooking time as the vegetables. While lentils begin cook in the stock I start by sauteing chopped onions, then add celery and carrots, then zucchini, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, pepper, cauliflower and garlic. I rarely have all of these in the soup at the same time, half of the vegetables mentioned will do without any significant changes to taste of finished soup. Salt and pepper the vegetables and add some Italian seasonings and a dash of red pepper flakes. Now add the pasta and vegetables to the soup, as well as a can on cubed tomatoes or small can of tomato sauce. Chicken chunks can be added now and the soup brought to a boil and turned down for slow simmer for about 15-20 min with the lid on. Add fresh chopped garlic clove, couple of leaves of basil, few springs of parsley and oregano, then remove from the heat. I let it steep as it cools off for about another 20 min and then it is ready to be enjoyed.
