Chicken noodle soup, chicken noodle soup with a ginger ale on the side - not quite the same version as Young B and Dj Webstar but the same idea for sure!My man is feeling a bit under the weather. With the change from summer to fall this is prime time cold and flu season. (You know how it is - you go out to run errands wearing shorts and flip flops because, like your shoe choice, temperatures flip flop from hot to chilly with sniffles). So when he came home from work I had a nice sick-o setup for him. Orange juice, ginger ale, cough drops, medicines, and a nice hot pot of chicken noodle soup along with a couch set up for vegetation with a TV remote within reach. Am I not the best? (Don't answer that) This recipe is quick, easy and tasty. Leftovers can be frozen in single servings and microwaved for a quick snack or lunch, so having extra is always a bonus.
Grocery List:(This recipe makes one full pot of soup) - 4 chicken thighs - skins removed
- 2 ribs celery - 1 diced
- 1 smedium (small-medium) onion
- 2 carrots - 1 diced
- potatoes- washed, scrubbed and peeled (optional) Leave the skin on the potatoes for a more rustic approach. The problem with this is you may get little skin floaters in your soup - not so attractive.
- water
- 1/2 package of egg noodles
- 2 tbs. dried or fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. dried or fresh dill
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbs. butter
- 1 tbs. olive oil
Heat your pot of choice on high. I'm using my trusty Le Creuset French oven in carribbean blue. (The color doesn't really matter..or does it? It so does.). Add a tablespoon of olive oil, then brown your chicken breasts for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove your chicken. Reduce the heat to low. Add the butter and stir in your mirepoix (this is a fancy French name for a blend of onions, celery and carrots, popular as a base for many soups and sauces). Sweat your veggies until the carrots are tender and the onions are translucent. Scrape the pan as your stir - be sure to use a sturdy wooden spoon that won't scratch your beloved dutch oven! - to release all of the chickeny goodness from the bottom of the pan.
Once your veggies are lookin' good, remove the pot from the heat.Chop up your potatoes into relatively even cubes. In a stock pot (not the dutch oven, or in this case French oven) turn the heat to high and add your potatoes, browned chicken, salt, pepper, 1 carrot cut into quarters, 1 celery rib cut into thirds and half an onion cut into 3 wedges. Add the water and boil until the potatoes are tender (NOT mushy).
Using a slotted spoon (a.k.a. search and rescue tool), remove your veggies. Add the potatoes to your veggie pot. Mash up the carrot, celery, and onion that were in the stock pot and add them to your veggie pot. This makes the soup a little thicker, a little more flavorful and a little bit pulpy. Remove the meat from the chicken bones. Add the meat to the veggie pot and the bones to the stock pot. Simmer your chicken bone broth on low. You can leave it on the burner all day if you'd like but the flavor still packs a punch if you choose to serve it immediately. Now add the herbs and seasoning to the veggie pot and let the mixture rest in the fridge (uncovered) to prevent my vegetables from over cooking (a common mistake in chicken soup) until your ready to munch out.
Ten minutes before you're ready to serve, bring your stock pot to a rolling boil. I cook my pasta in the chicken bone broth, following the directions on the packet. Once your egg noodles are cooked al dente ( Italian for noodles cooked soft but with resistance in the bite), add the broth and noodles to the crock pot of chilled veggies and chicken meat.
The heat from the boiling broth will liven up the veggies again without cooking them to death. Now let the healing begin! Dive in. The soup has been tempered a bit by the hot broth co-mingling with the chilled hearty parts. The perfect temp. Not too hot and not too cold. That Goldi-chick would have been all over my bowl. To fill up the bellies more, serve this dish with crispy baguette for dunking.
