Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Lately I have been rocking out soups. There is something to be said about a great bowl of soup, and this recipe is one of those. I don’t know about you, but I typically never order soup, or seek out to get soup from any restaurant. I will often times hear my wife say that she had a bowl of soup from work, and I typically never get excited by the sound of that. Not sure why, but it’s true. There is some greatness when it comes to making your own stock, and building aroma and excitement when it comes to homemade. Maybe it’s the smell, or just simply the satisfaction of knowing that you made that pot of soup that you know everyone will be ladling from throughout the day.

This is my take on chicken soup and one that I probably make about twice a month.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, cut into parts
• water, to cover the chicken
• 6 carrots, divided
• 6 ribs of celery, divided
• 2 onions, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 head of garlic, lightly smashed, skins removed
• egg noodles, cooked, optional
• salt to taste
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme, optional

Start by getting a large soup pot on the stove. Add in the chicken, and completely cover with water. This will not only form the base of your stock, but the chicken will be removed later to be added back to finish the soup.

Add in 3 carrots, 3 ribs of celery, 1 onion, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat, and cook for about 3 hours to build your stock. I often times let it go longer as well, depending on the day. Remove any scum that comes to the top during the cooking process.

After 3 hours, remove the chicken pieces to a plate, and let them cool.

Strain the stock, or remove any of the remaining vegetables with a large slotted spoon.

Once the chicken is cooled, remove any skin and shred the chicken. Place the chicken back to the soup pot with the stock.

Dice up the remaining carrots, onion, and celery and add to the soup pot. If you are using thyme, add it now. Bring this back to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for about 45 minutes or until your desire. Season with salt, taste and adjust any seasoning.

When you are ready to serve, add some cooked noodles to a bowl, and ladle in a generous amount of chicken soup. You want to talk about comfort, and something that I could eat every day, well… this is it. Hope you enjoy!