Anyone Can Make Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat. Audrey has a cough and the sniffles. At lunchtime, I grabbed my stockpot and got to work on our first line of defense - chicken noodle soup. This is what I make when we are sick, or when I have that one random gigantic chicken breast left in the pack that seems like a ridiculously large serving. This recipe is not glamorous or complicated (and you could dress it up a hundred different ways), but it gets the job done. While it may sound crazy to start whipping out the cutting boards while you're sick to make your own soup, when I smell this brew coming together, I start to feel better right away. (And, I figure if I can stand up long enough to make my own soup, how sick can I be, right)? So here it is, the quick and dirty:

Anyone Can Make Chicken Noodle Soup:

One enormous skinless, boneless chicken breast/or 2 normal size
2 quarts chicken stock
2 large carrots
3 stalks celery*
1/2 large onion
1 c. egg noodles**
salt and pepper, to taste

Put the chicken and stock into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Partially cover with a lid and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. While the chicken cooks, chop the carrots, celery, and onion into pieces. When the chicken is cooked through, use tongs to remove it from the stockpot. Let it cool a on a cutting board while using a strainer to skim any fat from the top of the chicken broth. Add the vegetables to the pot and return to a boil. Let simmer uncovered for 8 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, trim the chicken breasts of fat and chop into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot add noodles. Return to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until pasta is done. Season with salt and pepper.


* Most "mirepoix" - fancy French word for the combination of carrots, celery, and onion used in nearly every French recipe for stew or soup - use an equal number of carrots and celery, but my family really likes celery, so there you go, adjust accordingly.

** I prefer egg noodles, but didn't have any yesterday, so I used rotini, instead. We also go a little heavy on the noodles right now adding 2 cups rather than one, because Audrey eats just the noodles and leaves the rest of the soup.