Chicken Noodle Soup

No money to go to the store until payday, but there are things in my refrigerator/freezer that I THINK might make chicken noodle soup.  Wait…how do you even make chicken noodle soup?  Ummm…chicken and noodles, duh Christine, but what else?  I’ve seen carrots and celery in there before, but the broth must come from somewhere.  Oh, internet says from boiling a whole chicken with skin and bones, and something called aromatics to make it taste good.  Well that’s just more carrots and celery…lol…got it!

Okay, I’ll try—

It turned out AMAZING!  Instead of a whole chicken, I boiled 2 very large chicken breasts (with skin and bones) in water with good smelling vegetables inside it, then drained and strained it (kinda), then added the chicken back in with more vegetables and noodles and broth to cover…and in 2 hours I had soup!  Delicious, flavorful, hearty soup THAT I MADE…not from a can…from SCRATCH…on a work night.  Yes, swear to God. Real soup.

Now you try it.  But be ready for lotsa hugs because you’re family’s gonna LOVE YOU!!  

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

makes one pot of soup

2 large chicken breasts with skin and bones (you can use a whole chicken but that's alot)
-- skin and bones are a must or your stock won't have enough flavor
1 12-ounce bag wide egg noodles
water

secret ingredient

2 tablespoons butter
3 large green onions
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with side of knife
celery stalks
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
whole carrots, peeled (or 1 bunch baby carrots)
black peppercorns
kosher salt/cracked black pepper
1 handful fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2  32-ounce containers chicken broth 
secret ingredient...shhhhh:  Adobo seasoning (I use Goya)
--a spice mixture of garlic, oregano, turmeric, salt and pepper
colander


Place 2 chicken breasts in large dutch oven/soup pot, and add enough water to cover. Break green onions, 3 celery stalks (including leaves), and 2 bay leaves in half, and place in water. Chop 2 carrots in large chunks and add to water with a few whole black peppercorns, thyme sprig, smashed garlic cloves, and some kosher salt.  Bring to rolling boil.  

In a few minutes, skim impurities from the top and add a few shakes of the Adobo seasoning.  Continue to slowly simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1.5 hours.

Remove chicken to bowl and set aside.  Place a colander inside a large bowl in the sink, and pour stock through it.  If you've only broken your vegetables, the colander should be sufficient to catch everything.  Now...taste the stock.  If you can tell it's gonna be flavorful, you will use most of it.  If it's too watery, you'll use only half.  Discard what's in the colander.

When cool enough to handle, take skin off the chicken and discard it--it will come off very easily--and shred chicken in pieces.  

Now make your soup:
Place butter in empty soup pot and saute approx 3 chopped carrots and 2 chopped celery stalks (bite size pieces).  Add your homemade stock back into the pot, plus enough canned chicken broth to make a whole pot of soup.  Add chicken. Simmer for approx 30 minutes, adjusting seasonings and adding salt/pepper/adobo as needed, until flavors come together.

1 bunch baby carrots

Approximately 20 minutes before you want to eat, add egg noodles to soup and simmer until tender.

To serve, place in bowls and sprinkle with cracked black pepper and fresh parsley.

mmmmm...see???