HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

I grew up with my mom making chicken noodle soup. It is perfect for a cozy meal on a cold day, or any day for that matter. She would take a whole chicken, dump it in a huge pot, cover it with water and let it simmer for a few hours. She would also add sliced onions, peas, and corn to the mix. when it was done, she'd throw some noodles in there, cook them in the stock, and call it a day.

I love this growing up. The only downside was that I don't like whole onion rings in my soup and I don't like picking through the whole chicken to remove the bones after it is cooked in the chicken stock.

I've since adapted how I make the soup, yet still keeping the inspiration from my mom. Instead of dumping the whole chicken under water (which you very well can still do), I cut it into parts. Ultimately, I want to make the stock out of the chicken carcass more than anything, so I cut out the breasts and part the legs, thighs, and wings off of the chicken. I like cooking the meat later in the process, as you will see down below. Otherwise, with this recipe, if you throw the meaty parts in from the beginning, the meat has a tendency to dry out.

Some people ask what the difference is between broth and stock. Stock is made more from the bony parts of the animal, and broth is made more from the meat. Since we will be using the chicken carcass (which is more bone than meat) we will be making chicken stock.

If cleaning out a whole chicken freaks you out, just be brave! It might seem daunting at first, but just dive in and you'll find that it is quite simple. I break down this process into two parts. #1 is making the stock and #2 is making the soup. For both you will need chicken parts (either thighs, legs, breasts, etc.), or you can just use parts of the chicken if you're using a whole chicken to make stock. If you want to buy store-bought broth (not nearly as tasty), skip to step #2!

1. Chicken Stock:

1 whole chicken 2 teaspoons salt

2 large carrots, broken in half 1 teaspoon black pepper

2 stalks of celery, cut in half (leafier is better) 1 teaspoon garlic pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed whole 1 teaspoon celery salt

½ an onion, un-chopped 1 teaspoon rosemary (or three fresh sprigs)

½ teaspoon thyme (or three fresh sprigs)

If present, pull out the package from inside the chicken’s cavity. Set aside. Remove any organs inside of the chicken (they will be loose, so you just have to grab them and they will come out). Open the package from inside the chicken. You can keep the liver and cook it up later (which I love doing…some people think it’s gross). Throw away all of the remaining organs, but keep the neck of the chicken. It makes great for the stock!

Next, rinse chicken thoroughly with cold water – inside and out. Then cut the chicken into parts. You can do this by finding all of the main joints and cutting them loose, and also cut the chicken breasts off. Your chicken parts might look a bit ragged or mangled the first time you do this, but not to worry! We aren't going for presentation.

Set parts aside (thighs, legs, breasts, and wings). Place remaining carcass, neck, and wings in pot. Put the rest of the chicken parts into a plastic bag and refrigerate. Once the chicken carcass is in the pot, cover it completely with water.

Add all other seasonings and vegetables to the pot, stirring in the seasonings. Simmer on low for at least three hours, stirring occasionally. Once the stock has been simmering for three hours, dump broth through a strainer into a large bowl. Discard ALL of the contents in the strainer into the trash (let them cool first so you don't melt the trash bag) and return stock to the pot. Add more seasonings if you'd like the stock more salty or peppery.

2. Soup

Chicken parts (bone in or out) 2 cups green peas

Three quarts (or more) of stock 1 ½ cups celery, chopped

One package/box of noodles 2 cups carrots, chopped

Bring chicken stock to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add chicken parts and vegetables. Cook for 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and has absorbed the broth. You can use as little or as much chicken as you want.

Remove chicken parts from broth and transfer to cutting board. While they cool, boil water with oil and salt in a separate pot and cook pasta until al dente. Do NOT cook noodles in with the chicken broth. They will soak up all of the broth and you will be left with a gooey mess. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water to prevent sticking, and set aside.

After the chicken parts have cooled, shred the chicken into pieces of desired thickness. Add back to the pot. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Scoop some noodles into a bowl and slop the soup on top of it. Tada!

Serve with saltines or any cracker of your fancy to soak up the juice!