Chicken Noodle Soup

Who doesn't love a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup on a cold day?  Or any day for that matter!  Soup is a great way to use cheaper cuts of meat to make a delicious meal; in this case I used chicken thighs.  People often avoid thighs because they are a little higher in fat and quite honestly I think people tend to forget there is more to a chicken than breasts. 

Chicken thighs are super juicy and full of flavor, which makes them perfect for soup!  I prefer to use skinless and boneless thighs because it cuts down on prep time.  If you find a great sale on regular chicken thighs you could use them as well just remove the skin prior to cooking and remove the meat from the bone after cooking.  You could even boil the bones in your stock to add extra flavour.  Just be sure to get all the pieces out before serving!

Chicken Noodle Soup
20 chicken thighs
1T oil
2 sweet onions, diced
1t salt
3 cups chopped carrots
4 cups chopped celery (approx. 1 bunch)
4 cups chicken stock
6 cups water
1T fresh rosemary, chopped
2 bay leaves
2T fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups broad egg noodles

Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat.  Fry 4-5 chicken thighs at a time for 5 minutes on each side, making sure not to crowd the pan, until cooked through.  The chicken will stick to the bottom of the pot a bit but that's exactly what we want!  Those stuck bits are going to make a delicious broth!  Chop chicken into bit size pieces and set aside.

Add chopped onions and salt to the pot.  Cook over medium high heat scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  The juice from the onion will loosen all those bits and the onions will turn a brown color.  Add carrots and celery to the pot and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in stock, water and herbs and bring to a boil.  Add chicken and simmer over medium high heat for 30-40 minutes or until carrots are cooked through.  At this point you'll want to fish out the bay leaves, nobody wants to eat those bad boys.  Stir in the egg noodles and simmer until tender about 5 minutes.

When I make soup I like to make a large amount of it so I can freeze some.  Once the soup is cooled, ladle it into labeled freezer bags, seal, and freeze.  You can reheat the entire batch on the stove, or do individual portions in the microwave.  In no time flat you will have supper on the table that is not only delicious, but good for you!

I should also mention that soup always tastes better when you put it in a cool bowl!