Hi there!
It’s Tasty Tuesday time! Whoop Whoop!
As always, make sure you head over to Lena’s page to check out all the Tasty Tuesday yumminess as she’s the leader of this linkup party. You never know what you’ll find over there. Maybe some Russian Meatballs or something like that. Bet you didn’t see THAT coming! 😉
I’ve had a lot of interest in my homemade chicken noodle soup so I thought I would share with you how I made it.
I mean, from what I understand, it’s supposed to be a cold winter in most areas and we’ve already had some major temperature fluctuations and everyone is either coughing, sneezing, or both!
Might as well have some of the good stuff handy to help cure what ails you. 🙂
And, you should also have hand sanitizer and Lysol. Lots and lots and lots of both. Since, you know, you can’t walk around in a bubble.
First things first (because, they wouldn’t be first if they came second!), this is not a quick 30-minute recipe. Sorry.
Those are out there and usually require store bought, or previously homemade, chicken broth.
In a way, the soup COULD be a 30 minute meal if you use chicken and broth that you’ve already made.
So, yes, it’s a 30 minute meal.
With about 15-18 hours worth of prep time.
All done in a crockpot so don’t freak out. It’s not like you’re standing in front of the stove for that long. Oh gosh, how awful would that be?
Anyhoo, the first thing you do is prep the chicken.
I usually buy a 4 pound organic chicken, rinse it and pat it dry, rub it with a paste made of olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and cook on HIGH for about 5 hours. (You can do LOW just up the time to 8-10 hours.)
I learned a nifty trick from Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean – ball up 4 sheets of aluminum foil, put them in the crockpot, and set your chicken on top of it! They act as a rack, lifting the chicken off the bottom and allowing the air to circulate and the juices to drip freely off the bird without causing a soggy bottom.
Cuz no one likes a soggy bottom.
Once the bird is done, remove it from the crockpot, allow to cool, and start shredding!
Put all the meat in a container (you’ll have more than you need for soup so …. use some for chicken sandwiches, in salads, in BBQ sauce, etc!) and toss all the skin and bones back into the crockpot.
Um, remove the aluminum foil balls first. You’re done with those.
Throw in a roughly chopped onion, a few roughly chopped carrots (2-3 regular – you don’t even have to peel them!), a couple stalks of roughly chopped celery, some chopped garlic (3-5 cloves), a bay leaf, and fresh (or dried) herbs such as thyme, oregano, parsley, and marjoram. Then, pour about 8 cups of water into your crockpot (honestly, if you’re using a 6 quart, you could probably pour in 10 cups or so) or just to about an inch from the top.
Cover and cook on LOW 10-12 hours.
While you’re sleeping is an excellent time to do this.
Or, you could cook the chicken while you sleep, shred it when you wake up, then prep the broth and let it cook while you’re at work. Then you could totally make chicken soup when you get home!
Okay, so after the broth is done, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and discard the bones, skins, chopped veggies, etc.
Pour your broth into containers suitable from freezing/refrigerating.
I usually pour them out in one cup or two cup containers.
If you’re freezing the broth, make sure you don’t fill the container all the way full. You need to allow room for the broth to expand.
If you’re going right from the straining to the making of the chicken soup step, pour about 32 ounces of your freshly made broth into a large soup/stock pot.
Bring to a simmer.
Peel and chop a few carrots and some celery and throw those in there. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes. TASTE and adjust seasonings.
I like to add more oregano, marjoram, and thyme in addition to salt and pepper.
Tasting is hugely important because you don’t want overly salty soup.
Or at least I don’t want overly salty soup. Blech.
Then, add your noodles and cook about 5-8 minutes. Add in desired amount of previously shredded chicken and cook for about 5 minutes. This is just to finish cooking the pasta and heat the chicken up. You don’t want to overcook either.
If you prefer a creamier soup, you can add a tablespoon of butter and between 1/4 – 1/2 cup of heavy cream with the chicken.
If you’re making this from the “refrigerated broth” point, heat a small amount of butter in a large soup/stock pot.
Add about 1/4 cup chopped onion, your chopped carrots, and chopped celery. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, if desired. Cook 1 minute.
Add broth and bring to a simmer.
Once at a simmer, follow the steps above for seasoning, adding pasta, chicken, and butter and cream, if desired.
EAT!!!
Talk to me: Creamy or brothy? What’s your favorite pasta shape in chicken noodle soup?
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A Hungry Runner 