Chicken noodle soup

My friend, Jennifer L., is a freak of nature (in a good way). I mean really. If Martha Stewart and MacGyver had a child, she'd be it.

She can make a meal with a toothpick, some flour and duck tape. And it would be fantastic.

(She's an amazing seamstress too. Luckily she has a son that is tall and thin. And she makes him pants. Lots of pants. I don't have words for what a blessing that is.)

She also will give you an recipe of anything she makes. This is our most favorite soup, and she calls it "Chick-fil-A Soup."

You start with a whole chicken, which is fabulous for several reasons. I'll number the reasons so you'll get the full effect of how great this is:

1. Whole chickens are cheaper. I get organic ones from Costco, and I think they are $1.99 a pound. For organic. Good.
2. They are really easy to cook. Throw a chicken in a slow cooker with a couple of cups of water and pour a bit of olive oil over him with some spices added on top and 4-6 hours later you have a meal. (If you have some, stick in some red potatoes and baby carrots, making sure they are covered with water, and then you have nearly a whole meal in your Crock Pot = perfect.)
3. Eat a meal with your chicken, and even then you'll have enough left over for a large pot of soup.
4. The broth that is in the bottom of your slow cooker is now going in your soup for the broth. Better for you than store bought and, of course, cheaper. 

I think you've gotten your money's worth out of this bird. You are basically just tossing the poor thing's bones away.

Jennifer starts her soup by boiling the entire bird. I just can't bring myself to do that. Go for it if you're comfortable with that. I'm sticking with my Crock Pot way:)

Once you have eaten your fabulous dinner from your Crock Pot, get the rest of the meat off and put it in a bowl. I mean all those little slivers of meat. Pick that sucker dry.

In the bottom of a stock pot, pour in a table spoon or two of olive oil. You are going to saute 1 onion, minced; 2-3 carrots, sliced; and 2 celery stalks, diced (or sliced). Saute that over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they everything is tender.

You are now going to make what some call a roux, or a slurry. This one just uses flour and water. It's going to thicken the soup just a bit.


So take 3 tablespoons of flour and 3-4 tablespoons of water. Mix this very well until you have a thick, smooth, liquidy paste sort of concoction.


Add this to your vegetable saute and let it cook for just a minute as you stir it around.


Now you are going to stir in your broth from your slow cooker to your mixture in your stock pot. (I strain my since I don't like all those chicken pieces floating in my soup.)

Stir that up well. Add salt and pepper to taste, and your chicken from your bowl too. Now you just bring all that to a boil and let it bubble for a few minutes until it has thickened up a bit.

I now add some water. How much is up to you. It depends on how much chicken you have and/or how much or how little soup you want. Lots of variables there.

Now you add your choice of noodles. I like whole wheat egg noodles, but what ever makes your skirt fly up is good with me. I add half a bag of the noodles.

Stir this up and bring it to a boil again. Reduce heat and let simmer until the noodles are tender.

Now you add 1/4-1/2 cup of milk and stir through.

You're done! I prefer to make grilled cheese sandwiches with this and serve with lots of crackers. I'm not even hungry, but I could go eat this meal all over again. Luckily it makes a pretty good amount of soup, so there is plenty in my refrigerator for lunch this week.

And there you have it.

Chick-fil-A soup!

Ingredients

1 onion, minced
2 celery stalks, diced/sliced
2-3 carrots, sliced
shredded chicken
chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
3T flour/3-4T water mixed
1-2 cups noodles
1/4-1/2 cup milk