Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe comes from one of my favorite food bloggers, Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe , however I still haven't made this recipe just like she did. I've made this into a creamy turkey with wild rice and now a creamy chicken noodle soup. I used Spaetzle noodles that I had sitting in the cupboard but the frozen egg noodles or even homemade noodles would taste great in this recipe. Make it with the fat free half and half for a slightly healthier soup. I did try it with regular half and half and once with the fat free and you can not notice a difference so cut out some fat by using the fat free. This is a versatile recipe as I've proven by making in different ways than the original. This is a great recipe to add to your file just due to the endless possibilities for different soup.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
adapted from Melanie, My Kitchen Cafe

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn (or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 ½ cups chicken broth (can use 7 bouillon cubes plus 6 ½ cups water)
1 8 oz package of Spatzle noodles, cooked
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won't believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the noodles, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.