The weather is cooler this week in Arizona, and it even rained today. When everyone is feeling yucky and chilled, there is nothing better than homemade chicken noodle soup to warm us up. It’s fairly easy to make, has less sodium than canned soup, and is chock full of healthy vegetables.
Unlike most recipes, I do not use a whole chicken in my soup–too many little bones for someone to choke on. I use split halves, which are mostly breast meat, and then throw in some boneless chicken breasts for extra meat.
- 3-4 Fresh Chicken Split Halves, with Skin
- 1 Package Boneless, Skinless Fresh Chicken Breasts
- 1 Large Onion
- 3-4 Carrots
- 2 Stalks Celery
- 1-2 Twigs of Fresh Rosemary
- 1-2 Bunches of Fresh Sage
- 1-2 Bunches of Fresh Thyme
- Water to cover the chicken
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp. Pepper
- 1 c. Frozen Corn
- 1 Package Egg Noodles
Wash and pat dry the chicken splits. Some fat is good in the chicken broth, but I do not like too much, so I trimmed a lot of the fat off the skin.
Place in a large stock pot. Wash and the chicken tenders and add to the pot. Slice the onion, and chop the celery into 2 inch size pieces. Peel and chop the carrots into 1-2 inch pieces.
Throw the vegetables into the pot, on top of the chicken. Wash the herbs and throw into the pot. Add water to cover the chicken and vegetables, but do not fill to the top. (Fill to 3-4 inches from the top.)
Add the salt and pepper. Turn the stove to medium high, and heat until boiling Let boil about 4-5 minutes, stirring so it does not boil over. After 5 minutes, reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for about 3 – 3 1/2 hours, stirring every now and then.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken splits, and take the meat off the bone. Be very careful of little bones too, use your hands to break up the chicken pieces if you need to.
Using the slotted spoon, remove the chicken tenders and cut those up as well. Before you put the chicken pieces back in the pot, use the slotted spoon to make certain that there are no little bones pieces remaining in the pot. Since my son does not like big chunks, I removed the herb stalks, and used a potato masher and mashed up the big chunks of celery and carrot. Add the chicken pieces back in the pot, as well as the corn. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. While the soup is simmering, cook the package of egg noodles.
This is my favorite brand-real Italian egg noodles-yum! I do love to make homemade noodles every now and then, but when I don’t have time, these work great! When the noodles are done, throw them in with the soup, stir to mix everything together, and serve.
