Friday, September 16, 2016

Chicken noodle soup



Chicken broth
The day before you want to actually make the soupJ - or you can freeze the broth.
I usually use 2 chickens to make sure I have enough meat and enough broth.  I cut the chickens into pieces - legs, thighs, halve the breasts, wings, back, and neck.  You can pull the skin off - I usually do. 
Put the chicken in the crock pot and cover with water (I use filtered) plus 1-2 inches.  I cut up all the veggies I am going to use for the soup, put the soup veggies in a bag, and put the rest of what you usually throw away into the crock pot.  (I do the same thing when I make beef stew).  I then add lots of herbs: sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley (the song is a good way to remember what I put into the broth), and a bay leaf or two.  Let all of this cook over night and try not to dream of yummy soupJ
Whenever you are ready to make the soup, just strain everything.  Pull the meat off the bones and put in broth.  You are now ready to make the soup.

Soup
Sauté 2 medium, chopped onions in a couple TBL of olive oil until just starting to take color.  Add bite-sized pieces of carrots and celery - you will probably need 2 cups of each, but you can add more if you want a soup with more veggies.  Sauté everything until celery is just taking a little color.  Add more sage, parsley, rosemary, and thyme - I usually just smell and add whatever I think it needs.  I like lots of herbsJ  Sauté that for a few minutes and then add the broth and chicken pieces.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the veggies are cooked.  Add noodles and let simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.  Adjust herbs and add salt and pepper as desired.

Noodles

Mix one cup flour with 1 tsp of salt.  Make a well and add one egg and 1/2 shell of water.  Mix well - the food processor is a good friend for this.  Knead until smooth and elastic.  Let rest for 20 min and then roll thin and cut.  You can make the noodles as thick or thin as you like.  This doubles easily, and you can freeze whatever noodles you are not using immediately.  They freeze well for a month.