Dear Home-ec 101,
I brought home a rather large chicken from the deli the other day and now I’m sick of looking at it. What can I do to finish off the meat?
-Sprouting Feathers In Sante Fe
If I were feeling peckish, I’d whip up a batch of chicken noodle soup.
One of the keys to actually enjoying cooking, is to not destroy your kitchen in the process. Before you begin, fill your sink with hot soapy water and wash the dishes as you go along, you can thank me later.
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
- 2 1/2 qts water (Better yet, use 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock)
- 3 TBSP Better Than Boullion (or, if you must substitute bouillon cubes, but why would you want to?)
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 5 carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- about 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or turkey
- about 8 0z pasta (whatever noodles float your boat, we like wide egg noodles)
- thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to taste
- teensy dash of oil (preferably olive)
Chicken Noodle Soup Instructions
Set out your ingredients. Chefs refer to this as mise en place, but we’ll call it smart.
In a large pot, over medium-low heat, sweat (this is similar to sauteeing, but you want to use as little oil as possible) your vegetables, onions, and garlic.
How not to sweat vegetables: “Carrot! Where were you on the night of January 23rd??”
As soon as the onions are soft and the vegetables brightly colored add the stock or water & Better than Bouillon, and chicken.
Bring the mixture to a roiling boil.
Now, add your noodles, bring your soup back to a boil and cook according to the package’s directions.
Enjoy.
P.S. If I can make this with my minions running amok, you can too.
Yum! That’s one way I do it. I also like to shred it up over noodles (often those very same eggs noodles and add celery and onions (sweated very much the same way) and some butter and sour cream. Sprinkle on some seasoning (I use Trocamare, my hippie herby salt) and it’s almost like an alfredo.