Chicken Noodle Soup!

I know this is not the most popular summer recipe but I assure you that you will be rummaging for this on those cold winter nights. Especially if you and family are feeling a bit under the weather and just want some comfort food. I am posting this now as comfort food for reflections. A bowl full of CNS goodness and I know she will  feel like adding a new post on her wonderful blog:-)

One of the things I like about my kids' school is the hot lunch feature. It beats having to scramble for lunch in the mornings. They don't love every offering there but I'd heard them speak of the chicken noodle soup many a times. So I asked the lunch lady for the recipe and she was happy to oblige. I am writing down her recipe here mostly as is.

I updated this recipe in 2017 to reflect what I do now since the kid tastebuds are thirsting for flavor instead of the pristine clean soup they used to insist on.

In the Mix

chicken thighs - 5 or 6 (with skin on, washed & drained)
water - 1 quart (4 cups)
chicken broth - 3 quarts , low sodium(12 cups)
better-n-bouillon - 10-12 tsp (I used chicken flavor)
poultry seasoning - 1/2 tsp or to taste (now that kids are older I buy a dried blend of onions, thyme, rosemary, garlic etc and add a generous portion)

baby carrots - 1-2 cups
baby green beans - 1 1/2 cups (fresh or frozen)
celery sticks - 3-4 stalks, quartered
green onions - 2-3 stalks, quartered
shallots - 2-3, peeled and halved
cilantro - a small bunch , quartered

medium wide egg noodles - 1 pk of 12 oz. (340 gms)

How To Do

Boil water and chicken thighs covered in a pan for about 20 minutes. Let it boil once before covering to cook. Remove the chicken pieces and set to cool. Save the pan with the cooked broth for the next step. Once chicken is cooled, remove skin and bones and shred to bite-size pieces.

Add chicken broth to the cooked juices in the pan and simmer. I tried switching some of it with vegetable broth but the little sleuths found me out and would not touch the resulting soup however yummy it is!

Now add 'better-n-bouillon' to simmering water to make broth taste very rich with flavor in the short time. I am sure regular bouillon blocks will do just fine if 'bnb' is not available. Add poultry seasoning and stir. Here you can go to town by adding your own flavors as little or as much as you want. Mix all well together. Time to add the shredded chicken and all other ingredients. Veggies can be of any kind so long as they are strong enough to withstand the cooking. The trick is not to get them too mushy. Bring all to a boil. 

Add the egg noodles now. Cook on low to medium heat for about 8-10 minutes and the soup is ready to roll. I mean to roll onto your tongues and tummies:-) Wait for the warm comforting feeling to emerge and envelope you in a cozy sense of well being as you sit and enjoy your soup..