Kid Approved Chicken Noodle Soup

I am under the impression that chicken noodle soup is something that most people have a recipe for or just know how to make from scratch. Even so, I thought I would share my recipe because last winter was the very first time I had ever made it. Ever. I did not have a recipe. I just was wingin' it.

So I started off simple, using what I had at home and adding amounts based on how much of each ingredient I had. Over the past year, I have tweaked my recipe and have ended at this.

I have never written down how to make it. I always remembered the basic technique and the tools and "eyeballed" what went in the pot based on what I had at home.

I use chicken breasts. You could use fryer chicken pieces if you wanted. I poach my meat. I grilled the chicken breasts the first time I made the soup but I think it was a little too tough for a soup. I found poaching to keep the chicken extremely moist and the kind of melt in your mouth bites you look for with a soup.

After the chicken cools, I cut it into smallish pieces. I like to have a little bite of everything on my spoon so I cut the meat on the small side. This is where the "eyeballing" aspect of this soup comes into play. Depending how big your breasts are or how much meat you get off your chicken bones changes the amount of vegetables you will use. Also, we are big carrot fans here and less fond of the celery, even though it has to be there for the flavor.

This was seven small carrots. They were small because the last time I bought carrots, I bought the organic bag because they were cheaper. The carrots were shorter and thinner but they were a whole heck of a lot sweeter.  This would probably transfer to two or three regular sized carrots.

I used two stalks of celery. I cut it down the middle the long way before I cut it up so it's just a little smaller. This is the last bag of un-organic celery I will EVER buy. I learned yesterday that celery is the dirtiest vegetable we buy. Yuckity yuck yuck yuck. Avery loves to eat celery. Yes, I wash it and wipe it off but I still think I will spend the extra few cents for the organic stuff next time.

I start my soup off with a half of an onion, diced rather small.

First, heat about a tablespoon of canola oil over medium high heat and add the onion. Stir for a minute to start to soften it. Add the carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt and pepper and stir for about three minutes. I like to do this to caramelize the sugars in the vegetables to bring out their flavor before they are boiled in the broth.

Add the chicken and noodles. I add the noodles before I add the broth to see how many are actually in there. The first time I made the soup, I added waaaaay to many noodles. I apparently forgot they expanded and sucked all the moisture. It was a little gooey. If you add them when everything is still dry, you can see how equally distributed the vegetables, chicken, and noodles are. This was about a cup of wide egg noodles.

Next is the broth. Add enough until everything is covered and then some just to be safe. I mean, it is soup for cryin' out loud so it should be, well, soupy.

The final additions to the deliciousness are the seasonings and spices. I add a palmful of pepper. I measure it all Rachael Ray style. I like it peppery. I also add some crushed red pepper flakes just to keep things interesting. I use my palm again, and add about 10 flakes. I have never taken that and measured it before. Your amount of flakes would depend on your level of heat tolerance. We like it a little hot here. I'd probably add a few more if the little ladies weren't eating it.

There is one secret ingredient. You can call me crazy and not trust me but you really should. Are you ready for it? Is the suspense just killing you? Well, if it's not, it should be. Alright, here it is. I add two beef bouillon cubes. I know, I know, they are all full of sodium and all that jazz. If you have been paying attention so far, you will have noticed that the only salt I added was a pinch to the vegetables. I also buy low sodium broth.  I guess you could omit them and just replace 1/4 of the chicken stock with beef if you wanted. You can take whichever route you would like, but I just ask you try it. It adds just a little somethin' somethin'.

After that, all you have to do is bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it go until the noodles are done.

Well, I guess that's not ALL that's left, because you do have to eat it.

I base what I cook and how often I cook it on how much the girls eat. This is a hit. Avery is always the one who asks for it and she eats a ton. Kendall probably ate two entire carrots and two bites of chicken. That is huge. Two whole bites of chicken. That should tell you something right there. Girlfriend doesn't eat carrots or chicken.  Try this the next time you are sick or need to feed someone who is sick. Or in our case, just because a cute little girl asked for it.

Here's the recipe for you. Just remember that some of the actual amounts may be different for you based on how much chicken you have, how big your pot is, and how much your people like carrots and celery. You can totally leave the onion out as well. I know a lot of people don't like them but there are very few things I cook that don't start with a diced onion. It's just how we roll.

Kid Approved Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts or a cut up fryer chicken

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 medium white onion, diced finely

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup extra wide egg noodles

1-2 32 oz boxes of low sodium chicken broth

2 beef bouillon cubes

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

pepper, to taste

How to make the magic:

Poach chicken and let cool. The amount of time will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Two giant breasts take approximately 40-45 minutes.  Cool your chicken and cut up into a little smaller than bite size pieces.

Heat canola oil in a large pot. Add the onion. Cook for a minute. Add carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and noodles. Cover with broth. Add spices. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until noodles are cooked. Eat. Devour. Sip.