Chicken Noodle Soup – Meal #2 of 3 from 1 Chicken

Ok.  We are ready to make the second meal in the Trilogy Of The Chicken.

Here is all you need:

• Chicken
• Chicken Stock
• Butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped or minced
• 4-5 carrots, chopped
• 4-5 stalks of celery, chopped
• Frozen Egg Noodles
• Salt and Pepper (Lots!)  Just buy that healthy Himalayan Salt and you won’t feel bad about salting your food.

If you look closely you can see that my chicken stock is labeled “Whey.”  Nice.

After you get this going on the stove, please make this Soda Bread to go with it.  It is sooooo easy and good with this dish.

This first step (butter and onion) is a secret my friend Jen gave me.  Ever since she let me in on it, I have done it.  It’s simple, but really adds to the flavor.

Melt one stick of butter in your large stock pot.

We are about to saute our onion, but I want to show you how to peel it easily.  I just saw this on the Food Network last time we were watching TV in a hotel.  Cut both ends off.

Then slice into one side just about as far as I did in the picture below. About an inch.

Oh darn.  Look at that fingernail polish on my thumb.  Meg, 8, gave me a manicure and I keep forgetting to take that off.

Then just peel that outer layer off.  So simple.

Ok, so saute your onion.  Chopped, minced.  Whatever works.

Then get your jar of broth that was leftover in the bottom of the pan after you took your roast chicken out.  Go back to the Roast Chicken post to see how we got all of our broth for this dish.

I had about a pint.  It has gelled up by now and has a layer of fat on top.

I like to scoop off the fat with a spoon and not use it.  It makes it a bit too greasy for me.  Especially with the butter at the beginning of the dish.

Now you just have the good stuff.

Dump this into your pan and watch it melt in.

After it is liquified, add the chicken.

Add the carrots and celery.

Add  Salt and Pepper to taste.  I like a lot for this dish.

Remember the other broth that you made from the chicken bones. (Again, check out that post on the Roast Chicken to see how to do that.)  I added both of these quart jars to my pot plus about another 4 cups of water.  It seemed thick so I wanted to stretch it a little farther.

Of course you can also use just regular chicken bouillon in water according to the directions or canned chicken broth instead of this.

Now just let that cook/simmer for a while.  Maybe on medium low.  Maybe 30 minutes or an hour.

And lastly, add 2 bags of frozen egg noodles that you will find in the frozen food section usually near the frozen vegies at the store.  (Mine were 16 ounces – just add whatever amount you think looks good.)

Let that cook maybe another 15 minutes or so and you are ready to serve.

Yum!!!  Add that bread and you have a great meal!

PS.  If you don’t want to do the Roast Chicken before this meal.  Just take your frozen chicken.  Dump it in a stock pot for a couple of hours covered with water.  Maybe on medium.  And let it cook.  Then take it out and debone it.  You might need to add water here and there if it cooks off (evaporates) too much.   SAVE all that broth and pour it into a bowl through a sieve.  Then start with the onion and butter and continue as in this post.

Let me know what you think and/or if you have other ideas on your own version.  I will have the Chicken Pie recipe out as soon as I can.

Godspeed Ladies!