Chicken Noodle Soup

One of our favorite soups in the winter is Chicken Noodle. I use a recipe that my mom discovered in the late 70s when my parents were on their health-food kick. My mom isn't a fan of fancy spices or exotic herbs, so this is a fairly plain recipe. But that's the beauty of it, just regular, everyday ingredients make it easy to put together.

I use organic chicken legs from my farmer's market (I stocked up last fall), onions from the farmer's market (they freeze super well, and it's so nice to grab my snack baggie and dump 'em in the pot), and carrots from my local farm (who still has some available).

This recipe makes enough for the three of us with enough left over to have for a second meal, or for lunch leftovers. You can easily add extra chicken stock, noodles and veggies to make more if you have a larger family.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1.5 - 2 pounds chicken legs
4 cups chicken broth (I like Swanson with 33% less sodium)
onion, chopped
celery, chopped
garlic, minced (I use 4 or 5 cloves, but we love it, so use it to taste)
Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Parsley
1 pound carrots, chunked (or baby carrots cut in half)
No Yolk Extra Broad Noodles


Instructions:

1.5 - 2 pounds chicken legs
4 cups chicken broth

Use enough water to cover the chicken in a soup pot. As the water cooks away, add more to keep the chicken covered. Add the broth towards the end of cooking time. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes. The longer the chicken cooks the richer the broth will be. Adding a little butter will help with the richness as well.

While the chicken is cooking add the onion. I add one snack bag, which is 1/2 of a small onion. Add more if you like.

Also add the celery. I like the flavor of celery but not the pieces, so I chunk them big enough to pick out later!

Add the garlic too! Garlic powder also works well. I only had 3 garlic cloves tonight so I used a little garlic powder to make up the difference.

Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley (which I'm currently out of).

I don't measure my spices, but this is what it looked like before I stirred it.

When the chicken has cooked, remove the legs and let them cool for a few minutes.

I use latex kitchen gloves (because I don't like chicken stuff under my nails!) to remove the chicken from the bone and pick off all the gross stuff! No slime goes back in my soup!

While taking the chicken off the bones, add the carrots to the broth and bring to a boil.

When the broth comes to a boil, add 3 to 4 handfuls of No Yolk Extra Broad Noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot at any time.

There ya go! Chicken Noodle Soup! Easy!

All photos (c) 2/7/2011, Kathy Fannon

Have you ever tried No Yolks? I'm not against egg yolks, but these are the best noodles I've ever had. Do you have an easy soup recipe you'd like to share?