Chicken Soup with Homemade Noodles

It's that time of year when most people seem to catch some kind of bug.  I have several sick friends, a friend at the end of her pregnancy, a neighbor with a spinal headache, and other special folks with various ailments.  Just this morning I was telling someone how lame it is to feel kind of helpless to help them.  It's no fun to watch your loved ones suffer.  I'm not a health professional, but I do know how to make chicken noodle soup; that quintessential feel better kind of food.  It's always a good idea to make a big batch in order to keep some on hand in the freezer to share when inevitably, someone gets sick.  Looks like I need to make a REALLY big batch!

There are two ways to go about the broth.  There's store bought (soup aisle) and homemade.  I've done it both ways, but when I have the resources, I like to do homemade. 

There are also two ways to go about the noodles.  Either store bought egg noodles or homemade noodles.  Again, if I have the time and ingredients, I like to do homemade.  It's much easier than it may seem. 

Homemade Chicken Broth:

After enjoying your roasted chicken and chicken sandwich place the chicken carcass (I know that's not a great word to use when talking about food) in a large pot and just cover it with water.  Add some carrot tops, celery pieces, onion bits, mushroom stems...just toss in whatever extra pieces you have after chopping the veggies you'll use later in the soup.  You're going to strain these out of the broth anyways, so don't worry too much about them looking pretty.  They add flavor and vitamins to the broth. 

Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Allow it to simmer for several hours.  Strain out the broth, pick the last of the meat off the bones, then toss the bones and boiled veggies.  If you have the time, refrigerate the broth, then skim the white colored fat off the top before reheating it. 

Egg Noodles

1 egg
Heavy cream
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Break the egg into a medium bowl.  Fill half an egg shell with cream.  Add cream to egg.  Stir in flour and salt.  Knead the dough a couple times.



These are Claire's hands, mine aren't near this long and graceful.  She made this batch of noodles.



Roll dough out on a floured board or counter as thin as possible and let stand 1/2 hour.  Cut noodles to desired width.  Either let dry or use right away in your soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
3 sliced carrots
3 sliced stalks celery
4 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Noodles
1-2 cups cooked chicken pieces, chopped
Broth (if doing store bought, 36-48 ounces, buy extra just in case you need it)
Chicken bullion (optional)

Cook onion in olive oil over medium-high heat for a couple minutes.  Add carrots and cook a couple minutes more.  Add celery, garlic, peas, and corn and cook a couple minutes more.  The vegetables should be tender, but not mushy at all.  In a separate pan, cook mushrooms in butter until mushrooms start to brown. 

Add broth and parsley and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper to your taste.  If it doesn't taste 'chickeny' enough, you can add some chicken bullion.  Add the noodles in a few at a time so they don't stick together.  If using store bought, use about 8-10 ounces.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until the noodles are cooked. 

Reduce heat and add the chicken and mushrooms.  Taste and adjust your flavors as needed. 

This recipe is very forgiving and flexible.  Don't like peas?  Don't add them.  Don't have any celery?  Skip it.  It'll still taste great and make your body and soul feel better.  I swear by it.  It'll make your friends and family feel better too!