Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup

Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup

Well, it's certainly not cold here! It is the first day of Winter and it's 74 degrees. That isn't what I had in mind for my Christmas weather, but hey, I can't control the weather. It is kinda crazy, isn't it? Is anyone going to have snow this Christmas? We'll see!

 

I decided to make chicken noodle soup because it's a great freezer meal and my husband loves it. I do too, especially with the cold/flu season happening, it's good to have a stock-pile of this stuff!

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken

3 quart(s) low-sodium chicken broth

6 carrots, peeled

4 stalk(s) celery, ends trimmed

3 medium onions, peeled

5 black peppercorns

1 clove(s) garlic, crushed

10 sprig(s) parsley

2 sprig(s) thyme

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter

4 leeks, tops and root ends removed

1 teaspoon(s) salt

1 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground pepper

3 cup(s) (5 ounces) medium egg noodles

Directions:

Make the stock: Place the chicken and chicken broth in a large stockpot and set it over medium heat. Roughly chop 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, and 1 onion and add to the broth. Add the peppercorns, garlic, 2 sprigs of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the chicken is very tender -- about 1 1/4 hours -- skimming the surface periodically. Remove the chicken and place in a large bowl. Strain the broth through a very fine sieve into a large, clean bowl or stockpot. Discard the vegetables.

Make the soup: Skim any fat off the top of the strained broth and discard. Slice the remaining carrots, celery, onions, and leeks into 1/4-inch-thick pieces and set aside. Remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken, cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside. Chop the remaining parsley leaves and set aside. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until the onions are translucent -- about 7 minutes. Add the chicken, the reserved broth, salt, and pepper. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender -- about 1 hour. Stir in the egg noodles and parsley and cook until the noodles are tender -- about 10 more minutes. Serve hot.

I am not feeling too well so I just took the recipe from this website. I have made this recipe at least 5 times and it always turns out great. There is quite a bit of chopping involved but this is delicious. As I mentioned earlier, it can be frozen. I put 2 cups per freezer bag and it freezes for a long time.

I hope you enjoy this soup!