Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

The other day I was reading one of the blogs I regularly visit, Mangos, Chili and Z…. Lea Ann did a fantastic post about soup and salad…. like her… I eat a lot of salad… and I love soup. She inspired me to make soup… since living in the south in winter… I haven’t made as much soup as I used to. It was a staple when I lived in upstate New York in the winter… on those bitter cold days of January and February… there was nothing better than to have soup for supper…. I would get a loaf of fresh bread… and we were in heaven.

So I resolved to make soup… I picked several favorite recipes and bought the ingredients with the full intention of making one of them today for lunch…. Well you know what they say about best laid plans… unfortunately Warren got sick today… and called in to work… he never calls in… he has to be feeling absolutely horrible before he caves and calls in… but call in he did…

So being the loving person I am… I changed plans a bit and made Chicken Noodle Soup… nothing is better than a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup when you’re sick….

This recipe is so easy and quick… you either use homemade chicken stock or purchased stock or broth…. I must admit I have been lax lately about making stock and freezing it… so I used purchased broth…

TIPS

I used baby carrots and diced them for perfect little carrots… I cut the celery small as well… the vegetables cook pretty quickly this way.

I happen to have had some cooked chicken… but you can use rotisserie chicken purchased in the store for a fuller, more robust flavor… or simply cook the chicken yourself.

A bouquet garni is a little bundle made of fresh or dried herbs... made of cheese cloth and tied with string... you can buy them already made... but then you must use whatever herbs are in it and the purchased ones are dried. In the bouquet garni used in this recipe... I used fresh parsley, 2 dried bay leaves and peppercorns.... you could add more herbs that you like as well. For more information about Bouquet Garnis... see my Tid Bits of Information section in the lower right column.

I used 2 cups egg noodles… use as many or as little as you like in your soup… I always cook the noodles in the soup…I like the way the noodles absorb some soup and flavor them… however you can also cook them separately in water and add them to your soup already cooked… whichever way you prefer.

This soup cooks in about 30 minutes (including prep time)…. serve it with fresh baked rolls and a small salad and you have yourself a really good weeknight dinner…






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Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

All you need:

8 cups chicken stock or broth
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
1 medium onion sliced and then rings cut in half
2 cups cooked chicken diced
A bouquet garni made with 3 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 bay leaves and 3-4 peppercorns
Egg noodles (about 2 cups)

All you need to do:

Add all ingredients except the noodles to a large stock pot and bring to a boil over fairly high heat…

When soup boils, lower heat so the soup just simmers.

Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the noodles and continue to simmer for another 8-10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

NOTE: You can cook the noodles in water in a different pot and then add them to the soup after they’ve finished cooking….

Remove the bouquet garni and serve.