Friday, March 10, 2017

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup


Kevin has caught the crud. We know a few people that have caught it this season, and what I have learned is that this one lingers. Since he is self-employed and works like a demon, he can't afford to be sick. 

  1. TLC
  2. Chicken noodle soup
  3. Aromatherapy in the diffuser
  4. Epsom salt/eucalyptus oil bath
  5. Clean sheets and blankets
  6. Lysol on all tangible surfaces
  7. Windows closed after the day of airing out the house
  8. Immune booster tincture
  9. Orange juice, oranges, and fluids, fluids, fluids
  10. Cold meds mixed with alcohol
  11. Pillows and blankets set up on the couch with the remote and kleenex on the side
  12. Aromatherapy foot rub 
This list awaits him when he gets home from work. I plan on tying him down if I have to, and knocking this cold to it's knees. This post is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases. It's just my way of taking care of my man. 

My chicken soup is never the same twice. The ingredients vary a little, depending on what I have on hand. This time, I want plenty of onion and garlic. They are both nature's antibiotics, but they don't ever build a resistance they way Rx antibiotics do. Here's hoping he is ready for work come Monday morning.

I bought and boiled my chicken with skin and bones on. The healing properties and the fat come from the bones and skin. Besides, Kevin likes skin and this is for him afterall. He also prefers dark meat. 

Boil the chicken until it practically falls off the bones, I used my pressure cooker as a pot, but I didn't actually pressure cook anything in this recipe. The pot makes a convenient heat source. Forty-five minutes.





Remove the skin and meat. 








Set aside.







Bone broth. Completely different than boiling boneless, skinless chicken. This is liquid gold.

Yes, I just had you set aside the chicken for the sole purpose of admiring your broth.




Add chicken meat back to the broth. 









I found some roasted tomatoes in the freezer from last year's harvest. I thought they would make a healthy addition.






Grind sage, rosemary, and thyme. I would add parsley here, but I'm out. Come on Spring. I'm running out of herbs and vegetables!







Slice garlic.









Chop carrots and celery. I don't peel my carrots. I'm trying to keep all of the nutrients I possibly can.







Add an onion.









I chopped everything fairly chunky this time. I want him to have the satisfaction of chewing and his belly to do a little work.






Add it all to the pot. Don't forget the tomatoes and herbs. Simmer on low.








I think the tomatoes added this rich color. 






Pull out the silicone mat. I am going to make a mess with flour today, because I'm not going to use a pasta machine. Actually, I make a mess with a machine, too. This mat will still help me with clean up. I always use a silicone mat when I make pasta. Make a bowl out of flour. 



Add eggs to the flour. My soup is almost full to the brim, so I'm making a two egg pasta. Stir the eggs with a fork, bringing the flour into the egg until a soft ball has formed.





When enough flour is incorporated into the egg to make a soft ball, hand knead the rest of the flour into the dough. Keep kneading ten minutes, adding more flour until it's not sticky. 





I posted homemade noodles in another recipe using a machine. I just don't feel like using a machine today, so I will use a rolling pin.






Cover pasta ball with a bowl to let the flour hydrate and the gluten relax. This is an important step since I'm not using a machine.








Roll out into a sheet.









My sheet is bigger than my mat, so I roll one half of the sheet, turn it over and around, then roll the other side. 







When the desired thickness has been rolled, make a tube out of the sheet of dough. 







Slice to your desired thickness. One quarter to half an inch is common.








Uncoil your nuggets.











I like the rustic imperfection of these noodles. 








I wish you could smell this soup. At sixteen cups, I suppose I could share. 
Add the noodles.







Adding noodles will thicken the soup a little bit. The raw noodles will also soak up some of the oils and lighten the color. Add salt and pepper.





The chicken was cooked first. By the time the noodles are mixed and prepped, the vegetables should be cooked. The noodles will cook fairly quickly, because they are fresh. It should be ready to serve in ten minutes. I am keeping mine warm all weekend in my pressure cooker (used as a crock pot rather than a pressure cooker). This way I've got a bowl to feed my man on demand.  It's a labor of love. I truly believe that there are healing properties in intention when cooking. I believe the taste can be differentiated. Be patient. Don't rush. Be cognizant. Trust me, it shows in the finished result. 



  • 2 whole chicken legs, with bone and skin
  • 2 whole chicken breast, with bone and skin
  • 12 C chicken broth, homemade is best, bone broth is the ultimate
  • roasted tomatoes if you have them, or a can of roasted tomatoes from the grocery store
  • sage, rosemary, thyme.... parsley if you have it.  2 T each
  • 6 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped, leaves included
  • 2 large carrots, sliced
  • 1 onion, the larger the better
  • 1 1/2 C all purpose flour, or if you have it 00 grind makes a silky noodle
  • 2 eggs, farm fresh is best
  • 2 t salt
  • 1 T pepper

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