Chicken Noodle Soup

We can thank the most recent snow day for this wonderful soup post. I have really been on a soup kick lately. When I come home from a trip, I crave a comfortable home cooked meal but don’t necessarily want to put in the work—that’s where soup comes in. I toss some things in a pot and lunch for the next week is ready within hours. 

This particular soup recipe is a bit more on the laborious side but I definitely think it’s worth effort! The secret to this Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is making your own broth from scratch. Now I must admit, I used to think making your own broth was incredibly intimidating but after you do it once, it’s not worth buying the carton anymore. The broth has a rich almost buttery flavor and you have the choice to reduce the sodium and season it with whatever you see fit. I bought a small, whole chicken from the grocery store cleaned it out really well, and tossed it in a stock pot with 5-6 cups of water and the following: 

half an onion, quartered

3 stalks of celery

3 carrots

4 crushed cloves of garlic

2 bullion cubes

1 TBSP of salt

2 TBSP of pepper

1 TBSP of oregano

1 TBSP of parsley

 You let this simmer for about an hour depending on the size of your chicken.  The stock is ready when the chicken is tender and starts to fall off the bone. At this point remove the chicken and pull the meat off the bone.  Scoop out the veggies and discard the carcass. That’s it. You are now the proud chef of some delicious homemade chicken broth. It freezes well so you can have some for your future recipes.

Now if you want to use all the broth for a large pot of chicken noodle soup be my guest. That’s what I did, so don’t be alarmed at the amount of noodles I dump in there.

 I shredded the chicken and put ¾ of it back in the pot. You will now want to add a can of condensed chicken soup, diced celery, onion, garlic, and carrots. There is no perfect amount. Jeff hates carrots, but I love celery so I was heavy handed on the celery and used only a cup of carrots. Let your vegetables get soft and add an entire bag of egg noodles. I couldn’t tell you if any other type of noodle would work because I have never tried. If someone is feeling daring, and tries a whole-wheat noodle, let me know! Make sure to keep tasting the soup as you go. You might need to add more seasonings or more water if it gets too salty.

It takes a little more effort than say 5 can soup but it’s well worth it. There is really no way to mess it up. Your final product is a rich, flavorful, warm you heart, bowl of soup.  Next time a friend or family member gets sick, whip this out of the freezer for a quick reheat, and make sure to remind them you made the chicken broth from scratch, they will feel so loved! 

Enjoy,

Marissa Holden