Chicken Noodle Soup and Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

I don't know what's gotten into me, but I can't get enough comfort food right now. I went in search of another chicken noodle soup since I wanted something a little simpler than the last one I made. And I definitely found a good one. We had it for lunch, fresh from the pot, and it was very tasty. Especially accompanied with toasted sliced bread topped with some extra virgin olive oil and garlic salt. Yum.

The recipe includes a homemade stock option, but since I didn't really have enough time for that, I just used store-bought chicken broth. I varied the amount of broth a bit too since the noodles got huge, and by the time we were ready to eat the soup, it looked a bit like a pasta dish with a very watery sauce (maybe I used too many noodles?).

I will be making comfort food dish #2 for tonight's dinner -- a mac and cheese recipe that I saw Rachael Ray make when I caught the very end of her talk show last week. It just looked too good not to try. I'll be back to note any changes and let you know what we thought...

Edited to add: Okay, the mac and cheese was absolutely delicious. Make it. Now.

Chicken Noodle Soup
A variation on this recipe by Tyler Florence

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 3/4 quarts chicken broth
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles (maybe less?)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

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Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese
A variation on this recipe by Rachael Ray

Salt
1 pound regular or whole wheat penne
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 cups milk
A few grates fresh nutmeg
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry
9 ounces frozen chopped artichokes, defrosted and wrung dry
Ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, plus additional for sprinkling on top
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to cook the pasta. When the water is boiling, salt it well and drop the pasta in. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the pasta and reserve.

While the pasta is cooking, place a medium pot over medium-low heat with 2 turns of the pan of oil, about 2 tablespoons, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol. Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, veggies, some salt and pepper to the sauce, and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.

Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more cheese over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.