Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
It’s that time of year again. Everyone seems to have the sniffles around here! While Lysol wipes and frequent hand washing are a winter routine for our house, so is this amazing chicken noodle soup! Soup is one of those hearty, warms-your-belly, feel-good meals. Coupled with some delicious bread or a salad, and it’s a meal! I love shortcut soup recipes for quick weeknight meals, but there is something special about simmering a whole chicken. The flavors boast a more authentic taste, while simmering chicken bones all day provides some amazing health benefits as well!
So chicken noodle soup IS good for you when you’re ill. Heck, it’s good for you all year. Enjoy this simple-to-follow recipe. Change it up, make it your own. Fresh herbs are best when available, but dried work well too! Enjoy! Aaaaaaachooooo!
Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Stock Base
- 5-6 lb whole chicken (organic, free range is best)
- 9-10 cups water
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper
Chicken Noodle Soup
- shredded chicken
- 2 lbs carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 4-5 celery stalks, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/4 cup chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cups egg noodles (more or less, depending on your preference)
- salt and pepper
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Rinse the whole chicken in the sink. Pat with paper towels to dry. Please sanitize your sink afterwards!
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Add whole chicken to large pot and add just enough water to cover the bird.
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Roughly chop your carrots, celery and onion. Add to the pot and sprinkle in some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Bring water to a hard boil on high. Once it’s rolling, reduce to medium or low/medium and cover. Let this baby simmer for about 2 hours. It can go longer!
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After about two hours of simmering all of the goodness out of the bird, pull it out with forks and start to shred! Reserve the shredded chicken.
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You will be amazed at the amount of chicken you get from a bird this size!
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Using a strainer, strain all of that goodness from the stockpot into another pot. I strain it a couple of times so I get a nice, clean broth to work with. Discard the carrots, onions and celery and everything else the strainer picks up. Then, cool the broth down and allow the fat to rise to the top. Next, skim all of the fat from the top. I leave a tiny bit for flavor, but honestly, who needs all of that!?
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Now that your broth is clear and amazing, add the chicken back into the pot with the rest of the veggies, more salt and pepper (to taste) and chicken bouillon. I love the Orrington Farms brand the best! I typically buy on Amazon in bulk so I never run out! Let the soup simmer on low until the veggies are tender. Next, add the noodles (uncooked), to the pot. Cover with the lid and continue to simmer while the noodles soften. It won’t take long, so watch them! Serve and enjoy!
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