How to make homemade chicken soup

Chicken Soup — The Ultimate Comfort Food

Many of us have had chicken soup when we were sick. In fact, chances are that a parent or grandparent provided us with chicken soup when we were suffering from any range of maladies including colds, flu or even an upset stomach. For many, chicken soup has remained the ultimate in comfort foods — it almost always makes us feel better.

Most chicken soup is very good for us, provided that we are not loading it with salt and other not so nutritious additives. Chicken soup can help warm a child who has been playing in the snow, be a great after school snack after a walk home in cold weather or be a simple, inexpensive and hearty meal.

Making chicken soup from scratch is not hard to do and it is very versatile. There are many variations for chicken soup, this recipe is for chicken noodle soup. Chicken noodle soup can be very hearty if made with egg noodles. Other noodles or pasta may be subsituted.

Instructions

Step 1

Soup base

Making your own chicken soup stock from scratch is not difficult to do. To make your chicken soup base, pour two quarts of water into a pot and add the chicken. You may use a whole chicken or chicken parts. It is recommended that the skin be removed, however, you may elect to do this after cooking.

2 lbs of chicken parts (or whole chicken) should be boiled for approximately 45 minutes over medium heat.

Step 2

Preparing meat for doup

Once you have boiled the chicken, remove from broth and allow to sit until cool. In the meantime, place the chicken broth into a refrigerator safe bowl (or leave in pan) and place in the refrigerator. Allow the broth to get cold enough to skim the fat from the top of the broth.

After the chicken has thoroughly cooled, remove skin (if it has been left on) and then remove meat from all the bones and discard bones and skin.

Step 3

Soup basics

Combine the chicken as well as all of the other ingredients (except egg noodles) into a large pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for two hours until carrots are tender. It is important to note that the potatoes may be very soft. They are supposed to be used more for thickening the broth and adding flavor so do not be concerned about this.

Step 4

Adding noodles

Return the soup to a full boil and add one pound of egg noodles. Cook stirring as needed for approximately eight minutes until noodles are tender. Serve piping hot as a side dish or a main dish with salad and bread or crackers.

Things Needed