Chicken and Noodle Soup is Easy to Make

     I have memories of my grandmother's homemade chicken and dumplings, and to this day, I've never had any that come close.  Unfortunately, I don't have that recipe, but I've come up with a chicken noodle soup recipe that my kids love.

     It's really not that difficult to make great tasting Chicken and Noodle Soup.  Really!  With the convenience of using a supermarket roasted chicken, you can get incredible flavor without starting from scratch.

     When I started testing recipes, I looked through all my conventional cookbooks, gourmet cookbooks, online, etc. All the recipes I found seemed to lack the flavor I was looking for - you know, that great 'chickeny' depth of homemade chicken soup? So, I started looking in those cookbooks from churches and other organizations.

     Although I didn't find the exact recipe there, I did have some thoughts that led to my current method.  I use a noodle recipe from a very sweet lady who goes to my church, Delores Koster. Her soup recipe is in the St. Francis Xavier, Carbondale, Illinois Cookbook.

     The struggle I was having lied in making the stock/broth/base for the soup. That's when I decided there had to be a better, easier, faster way to get the flavor I wanted without waiting for a whole chicken, vegetables and some seasonings to figure out how to marry together appropriately.

     One night after my daughter's basketball game, we stopped to get a rotisserie chicken and the grocery store for dinner. My family only likes the white meat, so we always have part of the chicken left over.  Rather than tossing it, because no one liked the dark meat, I froze the whole thing until I could figure out how to use up the remaining chicken.

     My son had been asking for homemade chicken and noodles, and that's when I decided to give it a try.  I added what was left of the rotisserie chicken into water with some vegetables and spices to make the base for the soup.  After a couple of hours of simmering on the stove - and it smelled great - I strained the mixture and boned what was left of the chicken.  Ironically, my kids don't really like a lot of chicken in their soup, so this idea works out great for us. And, for some reason, they do eat the dark meat in this soup.

     I add the noodles and let it simmer for at least an hour or two.  Usually, I have to add more water prior to adding the noodles.  The result is really good.  It has become one of those meals that everyone looks forward to, and the kids always ask for when they don't feel well.  I guess that's the true test of chicken soup, right?  I hope you enjoy it, too!

     By the way, feel free to add new carrots or whatever other kind of vegetables you would like to this soup. The flavor of the vegetables you add to make the broth releases into the broth and chicken, so you'll need to toss those. My kids prefer to have a bowl of steamed broccoli and cauliflower that they can dip in the broth, so I don't add anything but noodles to the strained broth for us.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Grocery Store Rotisserie Chicken - or the remaining part of one. (If you like a lot of chicken in your soup, you may want to add a chicken breast or two if not using a whole chicken)
1 Medium Onion, quartered
2 Stalks Celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
5 whole Peppercorns
1 T. Poultry Seasoning
1 T. Sea Salt
Water

In a Dutch Oven, or large soup pot. Add all of the above ingredients except water.  Pour enough water over to cover ingredients by 1 inch.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and leave uncovered for at least 1 hour, but preferably 2. I like to start this first thing in the morning to have for lunch, or at noon for an early dinner.

With a slotted spoon, or spider, strain chicken, bones, and vegetables out of pot.  Put pot back on burner, and add about 3 cups of water.

Bone chicken, reserving meat for the soup.  If you would like to add vegetables, especially carrots, do so now.  If adding peas, you can wait until the last 10 minutes of total cooking time.

Noodles

1 egg
3 egg yolks
Cold water
2 C. Flour
2 t. Salt

In a medium mixing bowl, add all eggs.  Whisk until light.  Add 3 tablespoons of cold water and salt and whisk until well blended.

Add flour and mix with a fork until you can gather it up in your hands and form a ball.  Depending on the weather, I've had to add a bit more water to bring it together; but, be careful not to add to much and make it sticky.

Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes.  This is important because it allows the dough to be rolled out much easier, and less like elastic.

Flour the area where you will roll out the dough.

Roll out the dough into a large circle.  I get it as thin as I can, about 1/8 inch, although some people like their noodles thicker. If you prefer them thick, you will need to add for time for cooking to make them tender.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into noodles the desired width and length you prefer.

Put the noodles into the simmering broth and continue to simmer for at least 1/2 hour, but they are more tender if you have the time to let them simmer for an hour.

Add the chicken about the last 15 minutes.

Taste for seasoning, because I usually need to add at least another teaspoon or so of salt at this point.

Grilled Pizza

     Warmer weather reminds me of having pool parties and cooking outside. One meal that guests really appreciate is grilled pizzas.  I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First, they taste really good!  Second, your guests can personalize them to their own taste.  For the host, this is a great make ahead idea.

     Here's what I like to do.  I make the dough ahead of time - usually the day before. If you put the dough in a large zipper bag in the refrigerator, it will rise overnight just fine.  Then, you can just punch it down and roll out individual pizza rounds.  I'll include a recipe at the end for pizza dough. I will typically roll out the dough into about eight-inch rounds and grill them lightly- at a medium temperature - on one side. Then, I stack them between paper towels after they're cool.  The grilled side is where toppings go.  Put the assembled pizzas on cookie sheets dusted with cornmeal for easy transport to the grill.  5 minutes on the grill should cook the raw side of the dough as well as the toppings.  A good tip is also to crumple up two or three paper towels and pour a bit of vegetable oil on them.  Use a tongs to rub this over the grate on your grill to help prevent sticking.

     Some ideas for toppings include bowls of cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, chicken breast pieces, Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, basil leaves, sage leaves, Italian parsley, thinly sliced tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, pizza sauce and whatever ingredients you may prefer.  These are some that I use. 

     Keep in mind these are thin pizza crusts, so the more advanced prep you do for the toppings, the better result.  For example, you would not want to put raw sausage on them because there isn't enough time to cook it through before the crust would burn. Likewise for the onions and mushrooms.  It would be difficult to fully cook them on the grill, so sauteing in advance is a good idea.

     If you set up an assembly line of sorts for the ingredients, it is easy for guests to put together their own pizzas.

     Kids especially like making their own pizzas, so this is a fun party idea.

     If you prefer not to make your own pizza dough, you can purchase it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - or, you could use flour tortillas.  But, I think the dough gives a more authentic flavor to the pizzas.

Pizza Dough

2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water (about 110 degrees)
2 2/3 - 3 c. all-purpose white flour
1 tsp. salt

Sprinkle yeast over the water in a bowl. Stir until dissolved.  In the mixing bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 2/3 cups of the flour and salt.  Pour in the wet yeast mixture. Gradually mix it into the flour, adding a little more warm water, up to 1/3 cup. Allow the mixer to knead until very smooth, soft, and no longer sticky, about 2 minutes. You may need to add additional flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.  It should still be fairly wet.

Oil the dough and put it back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If you prepare the dough the day before, lightly oil it and put it in a large zipper bag. It will rise in the refrigerator overnight. Punch dough down and turn it onto a floured surface. Use a pastry cutter or a thin sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Divide each half again, and each piece one more time, so that you have 8 portions. Roll each piece out into 8 inch rounds.

You may keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or you may freeze it up to 2 months. If frozen, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before preparing.

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