I’ve got some soup for you! Chicken Noodle Soup, to be exact. When the weather is cold and we’re all busy running from point A to point B to point C D X Y Z, it can be awfully difficult to make time for culinary wow moments every day. Despite what our mouths want. That’s why setting aside a bit of time over the weekend – or middle of the night – to simmer a large pot of stock on the stove is a great idea.
If you follow us at all on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram, you’ll know we do a daily feature for dinner ideas. We call it “Dinner Idea” (go figure, right?). The “idea” is to provide you with a recommendation for a tasty yet approachable meal that you can make each night!
Borrowed from the culinary blog, She Eats, this soup recipe is just that – something you can make ahead of time so when the wind is blowing, the snow is falling and your evening is quickly slipping away to appointments and social engagements, you can just re-heat and serve.
Like any recipe, we hope you’ll tweak and adjust depending on what you like and/or have on hand. As is, this incredible soup makes great use of the cold weather vegetables available right now but don’t hold back – let your imagination run wild! Create new sensations by adding, subtracting or substituting any of the ingredients. And of course, share it with us! We want to hear how it worked out for you, see your photos and find out if you kept it as noted or made it your own with a few ingredient changes.
Enjoy!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe from She Eats – Serves 10.
Ingredients (For the Stock):
Left over chicken and bones from 2 organic, free range, local roasted chickens.
8 C Water (or blend of water, chicken broth, and/or veggie broth) – To Cover.
3 Celery Stalks, roughly chopped.
1 Onion, quartered.
3 Carrots, roughly chopped.
2 Leeks, roughly chopped and tops discarded.
5 Cloves Garlic.
1 Medium Parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped.
1 Large Waxy Potato, roughly chopped.
1 Lemon, halved.
1 Jalapeno or Other Hot Chili, cut in half.
1 Large Handful of Herbs (i.e. Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Bay Leaves).
Small Splash of Veggie Oil.
Approx. 1/8 C Sea Salt & A Good Twist of Fresh Black Pepper.
Ingredients (For Soup):
3 Stalks Celery, roughly chopped.
3 Medium Carrots, roughly chopped.
2 C Winter Squash, peeled, de-seeded, and roughly chopped.
1 Medium Parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped.
2 Leeks, roughly chopped.
2 C Russian Fingerling Potatoes, chopped in half (or other small, waxy potatoes).
1 Large Onion, quartered.
5 Cloves Garlic, peeled.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
1 C Frozen Peas.
1 Small Handful Fresh Herbs, roughly chopped (i.e. Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaves).
3 C Cooked Short Noodle Whole Wheat Pasta, rinsed and cooled (i.e. Spirals).
A Good Dose of Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper (to taste).
What to Do (For the Stock):
In a giant pot, chuck in all your ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat to a low simmer, partially covering the pot and let simmer for 5 to 6 hours. I don’t have a lid for this big boy so I just used a large plate with the spoon sticking out so it wasn’t a tight seal but still limited the amount of evaporation while the stock simmered.
Once time’s up, strain the stock into a deep bowl (or another pot) through a colander. Be careful! It’s hot! Pour liquid back into the pot and set aside for the moment. Pick through the junk in the colander, collecting the edible chicken and chuck it back into the stock. Toss (or better yet, compost!) the inedible bits. Give the soup about half an hour to cool and then scrape any “fat film” off the top. There shouldn’t be much.
What to Do (For the Soup):
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
For the last 45 minutes of the stock simmering, toss all the soup vegetables (except the peas – leave them alone for now) plus the rosemary and thyme into a roasting pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 – 40 minutes until veggies are tender but still holding their shape.
Remove from the oven and let cool. Once you have scraped the film off the top of the stock, chuck all your roasted veg plus the bay leaves into the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for about 8 minutes – add the peas and the cooked pasta noodles – and simmer for 2 more. Make sure you check the flavor – if you need to add more salt or pepper go ahead – but add slowly! A couple Tbsp at a time! You can always add more, however if you add too much you can’t take it away!
Eat!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
Have you ever made soup? What is your favorite? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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