Chicken-less Noodle Soup

This winter I have decided that my family is having a soup night every week. I love, love, love soup. For many reasons - not the least of which is because it can be inexpensive to make. Soup can also be low in calories yet extremely tasty. This is good, because 9 times out of 10 we're having rolls with our soup and breads are not so low-calorie.

Another reason I love soup is because I can hide things in it that my kids (and husband!) won't normally eat. For example: cauliflower. No one in this house besides me and Handsome Man will touch the stuff. Or so they think (insert evil laugh here).

This past week we had all been oh-so-sick and I was just starting to feel better. It was cold and rainy and the perfect day for soup. When I announced this to Horse Lover and The Monkey, they started to complain. Being the sweet, tender-loving mother than I am, I informed them that we were going to have soup often throughout the winter and they had better learn to like it or plan on going hungry. However, I did let them choose what kind of soup I would make. They voted for just plain old chicken noodle. You know, the kind with no actual chicken or vegetables in it. So I agreed with one condition: all chicken noodle soups must have celery in it, but I told them that they could pick it out. Little did they know the celery was just a cover-up for my real plan... cauliflower.

The secret to hiding cauliflower in soup is to steam it and then puree it before adding it to the broth. I just so happened to have a head of cauliflower on hand that I got in my produce co-op about a month ago. It really needed be used. And the end result? No one - not even The Honey - realized there was any vegetables in the soup at all other than celery. The kids loved it - especially Handsome Man. And yes, he went straight from the high chair to the bathtub after this meal...


Chicken-less Noodle Soup
(Makes approximately five 1-1/2 c. servings. 115 calories per serving.)

4 c. chicken broth
2 stalks celery
1 large clove of garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. dehydrated onion flakes
1/3 head of cauliflower
1/2 c. water (or more if needed)
2 c. dry egg noodles

In a medium or large saucepan combine chicken broth, celery, garlic, and onion flakes. Simmer over medium heat till the celery is tender.

While the celery is cooking, cut up 1/3 of a head of cauliflower into florets. Steam in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes or until very tender. This should make about 2 cups of cooked cauliflower.

Puree the cauliflower in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add the water if necessary. I have a Sunbeam food processor (kind of like a Magic Bullet) that I used to make baby food for Handsome Man. I do most of my purees in this, and I always need to add extra water. I had to do the cauliflower two batches and I added about 1/4 c. of extra water to each batch. If you need to add more or less, it doesn't really matter. This is soup, remember. The important thing is to make sure there are no chunks of cauliflower left in recognizable condition. Kids rarely taste anything in their food that they can't see. But let them see a tiny speck of something they don't like and you'd think it was the only ingredient in there!

By now your celery should be pretty tender, so add the pureed cauliflower to the pot of soup.

See how nicely it mixes in? And it's a great thickener, too! No cornstarch needed for this recipe.

About 20 minutes prior to serving, add 2 cups of dry egg noodles to the pot of broth. Continue cooking until noodles are tender.