Soup-er Sunday: Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup. Classic. Comforting. Cure-all. Need I say more?

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I thought perhaps I should make this soup today, since my husband ran 26.2 miles this morning. You know, just a marathon. His first. And he did it in 3 1/2 hours. Wow. Knowing that his body is going to be seriously hurting, why not make the classic go-to when you're not feeling so hot, right? When he got done with the race, he thought chicken noodle soup sounded good. However, he also noted he had been dreaming about a huge, cheesy pepperoni and sausage pizza since about mile number 10. So we ordered the pizza while we were walking back to the car. He can have that for lunch--after all, if I had run 26.2 miles, I would darn well eat whatever I pleased, too. We'll have the soup for dinner :)

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CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe, because his sounded most similar to mine (and I've never written mine down!)

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or pressed through a garlic press)
• 2 medium carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces (or smaller)
• 2 celery ribs, chopped into bite-sized pieces (or smaller)
• 4 cups of Penzey’s prepared Chicken Soup Base OR 4 cups chicken stock (recipe follows) OR boxed stock (like Swanson's)
• 8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken – I like to use rotisserie chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

If you’ve got them on hand, use the following, if not, don’t worry—you will still have delicious soup!

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

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Directions:

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Also add the thyme and bay leaf if you have them. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley (if you have it) before serving.

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CHICKEN STOCK: There are a hundred different ways to go about making chicken stock. Here is what both my mom and I do—SO easy!

• 1-2 Whole Rotisserie Chicken leftovers (Leftovers=whatever we didn’t use after we took off all of the chicken meat. For both my mom and me, that means everything except the white meat. We’re not dark meat fans. The leftovers includes the bones, skin, and all. If we don’t feel like making stock, but we don’t want to waste good leftover rotisserie chicken parts, we put them in a big Ziplock and throw it in the freezer until we do feel like making chicken stock.)
• Water

When you’re ready to make stock, put leftovers (frozen or not) into a stockpot. Add water until chicken parts are just covered. Be careful not to add too much water. This will simply dilute the stock and take away from flavor. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low so that the liquid can simmer. Simmer at least an hour. If necessary, add a little more water to keep the chicken covered while simmering.

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Note 1: the addition of one, many, or all of the following ingredients would be LOVELY to add to your stock, but it is not a deal-breaker if you don’t have them on hand at the time you are ready to make your stock.

• 2 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
• 2 large white onions, quartered
• 1 head of garlic, halved so that all cloves are cut in half
• 1 turnip, halved
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Note 2: If I have it, I like to add a tablespoon or two of Penzey's Chicken Soup base to my cooking stock, depending on how it tastes, to give it an even richer, deeper flavor.

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When done simmering, carefully strain the stock (I use a pasta strainer) into another pot to remove all of the solids. Use the stock immediately or cover and refrigerate or freeze.