Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

i could eat soup every single day. i love it. there's just something about sitting down with a big bowl of hot soup on a cold night. mmmmmm. so when i stumbled upon this recipe, i had to give it a whirl. i got the original recipe from allrecipes.com but after reading some of the reviews & instructions, i have altered it to fit our tastes & to make it easier to throw together. when you first read this recipe, it may sound like a lot of work, a lot of time & a lot of ingredients. but its really not bad at all. i was surprised with how easy this was & how yummy it turned out. plus, it makes plenty so you could freeze some or have plenty of leftovers for later. ok, enough info, here ya go:

Ingredients:

*12 cups chicken broth (96oz) i use (3) 32 oz cartons & 1/2 of a 14 oz can of broth. so a little more than 12 cups.

*1 rotisserie chicken

* 1 cup chopped celery

* 1 cup chopped onion

* i small bag frozen cut carrots (i didn't have a bag this time so i just 1 1/2 cans of cooked carrots)

* 1/3 cup cornstarch

* water

* 2 1/2 to 3 cups wide egg noodles. raw. do not cook them first.

* salt, pepper, garlic powder, season all (or poultry seasoning), oregano. you will just use these to season to taste. i don't ever measure them out

* a large pot. it doesn't have to be as big as mine, just use the biggest one you can

Directions:

pour all of the broth into the pot. add the bag of frozen carrots (or canned work just as well) to the broth. chop up the celery & onion & add to the broth as well. take the entire rotisserie chicken and the drippings from the container & add to the broth mixture. sprinkle in your seasonings. bring all of this to a boil then reduce the heat & cover. allow it to simmer for 15 minutes.

after 15 minutes, remove the entire chicken. it will probably have fallen apart in the pot, but thats ok. just use a pair of tongs & remove any bones or skin that are floating in the broth. allow the chicken to cool for a few minutes before you try to pull the meat from the bone. while the chicken is cooling, pour 1/3 cup cornstarch into a bowl. add just enough water to turn the cornstarch to liquid. you will need to stir constantly as you are adding the water, if the cornstarch feels like paste as you are stirring then you need to add more water. once the cornstarch has reached liquid form, pour it slowly into the broth mixture. stir very well.

after adding the cornstarch to the broth, add the raw noodles. i use 3 cups, it seems to be just enough.

(your chicken may look like this after the chicken has simmered in the pot!!)

while the chicken is still hot, use a fork to separate the chicken from the bone. you may cube the chicken before placing it in the pot. but i like to shred it and then sort of smush it before i put it in the broth. if you do it that way, there will be chicken all throughout the broth, super yummy!

after you place the cornstarch, noodles & chicken into the broth allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. stir frequently. this gives the noodles time to cook.you don't have to cover it. at this point you may also want to taste the broth. i usually add a little bit more seasonings at this point.

after 15 minutes of simmering, the soup is done!!! you will love this recipe. its really yummy. please let me know if you try it & like it. or if you try it & add other things to it that make it even yummier!

here are a few helpful tips:

* i use 2 cartons of regular chicken broth & 1 that is low sodium. i do this so the soup doesn't taste too salty & it makes me feel like its a little healthier!!

* usually, after adding the 3 cartons of chicken broth, i'll use 1/2 of another 14 oz can of chicken broth. i do this so that after the soup has sat in the fridge overnight, the noodles don't soak up all of the broth. and i just love a good brothy soup.

* you certainly do not have to use a rotisserie chicken. but i have found that its easier & when you place the whole chicken, including the fat drippings, in the pot, the broth soaks up all the flavors from the skin & seasonings. i've tried it different ways & the soup just isn't as flavorful.

* you can find coupons for broth on shortcuts.com that you can load to your kroger card & you can use paper coupons in addition to them. that way, you can stock up on broth inexpensively.

* the longer you allow the soup to simmer, the better it tastes. just make sure you stir it often so that the noodles to stick to the bottom of the pan!

happy eating!! i hope you love it as much as we do!!!