Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth and Noodles

My husband was all sick and gross one day, so I ran out and got a chicken to make him some soup! That would be because I am an amazing wife, if I do say so myself!! :) Chicken noodle soup is one of only two soups my husband will eat, but he will only eat these two soups when he's sick. The other is a potato soup I make with ground beef or shredded chicken and chicken stock which is incredible as well! When I make a broth forward soup, where it is the star, I always make it myself, because then it is eight thousand times better! I also make my own noodles, so I'll just break this recipe into it's three parts!

Ya, of course I put cheese on there! What do I not put cheese on??

To start, you need to make broth;

I don't salt my stock. You can if you chose to, but I prefer to add the salt to whichever dish I'm using the broth for.

This takes at least three hours, but you can simmer as long as you wish.

1 stewing chicken plus boney parts you may have in your freezer from butchering another bird, or three pounds of scraps from butchering. (Neck, backbone, wings, any scrap with a bone.)

3 stalks of celery with leaves, cut into large chunks

2 carrots, cut

1 large onion, unpeeled and cut up

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns (If you have none, use 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper.)

4 sprigs parsley

2 bay leaves

2 large garlic cloves, smashed and unpeeled

8 cups cold water

(If, whenever you're making stock, you're making another dish, throw in the scraps from the veggies you're chopping for it as well. So, go ahead and prep the veggies for your soup now, it will add more deliciousness to your broth.)

If you are using leftover pieces from butchering a bird, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and roast the bones for 20 to 30 minutes until browned.

Place chicken and bones into a large stock pot, with at least a 6 quart capacity. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for at least 2 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove the bones and vegetables. Discard the bones and give the veggies to your cat. Or throw them away, better yet, compost them. Whatever you choose!

Strain broth through a fine seive lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Skim the broth or clarify it by returning strained broth to the pot and stir in an egg beaten with 1/4 cup cold water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes and strain again. If you're chilling it for another use, you can refrigerate and scrape off the hardened fat from the top, but I find clarifying to be the easiest method for defatting broth.

This makes about 8 cups.

While the broth is doing it's thing, make the noodles:

I like to add dried herbs to my homemade pasta, and used basil for these, you can leave it out if you like or use whatever herb you like. I've also used frozen, drained spinach, which is in my pasta recipe from earlier.

These noodles take about 1 hour to prep and cook.

2 cups whole wheat flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg (Save the two whites for an omelette.)

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups flour and salt. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, water, and oil together. Pour into well in flour and mix well. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup flour onto a clean kneading surface. Turn dough out and knead until it is smooth and elastic, a good 8-10 minute arm workout! Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into four equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each out into a 12x9 inch rectangle, about 1/16 inch thick. Let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Lightly dust dough with flour, loosly roll up into a long log, and cut 1/4 inch wide strips and shake to seperate. Cut into 2 inch lengths. To use immediately, cook for 2 minutes and drain. To dry for storage, lay out on a wire cooling rack and let dry for an hour, until completely dry. Store, refrigerated, in an wirtight container for 3 days, or freeze for longer storage.

When I make these noodles as part of a soup, before I add the stock to the veggies for my soup, I pull out enough to cook the noodles and then place a strainer over my soup pot when draining my pasta to return the stock to the pot, toss the noodles with a little extra virgin olive oil and store in an airtight container in my refrigerator, and add them to the bottom of the bowls before I add the hot soup, it warms them through very well, and that way I don't have fresh noodles sucking up all of the moisture and falling apart in my leftovers.

This makes about 5 servings if you plan to have them as a main player of your meal.

For the main event, the soup;

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook.

1 cooked chicken, from making your stock

1 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen green beans

2 teaspoons salt

8 cups chicken broth

pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Siracha sauce (optional)

Remove and discard skin and fat from chicken. Cut the meat from the chicken and shread.

In a large pot sprayed with cooking spray, saute onion, carrots and celery, seasoned with salt. Add chicken and saute so some of the meat becomes a little crispy on the edges. Add the broth, peas and green beans, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered,  for 5 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in the parsley. Ladel into bowls, grate parmesan cheese over the top, and sprinkle with additional parsley. If you're wanting to open your sinuses, or just dig spicy soup, add some Siracha to taste! This soup is also really good with a teaspoon of basalmic vinegar stirred in, even with the Siracha!

This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings!

Enjoy! This is some delicious soup!!!