Soup Friday: Chicken Noodle Soup

 My in-house picky eater is not a huge fan of soup, which he has long-considered a food group that he doesn’t eat.  As in....some people do not enjoy tomatoes or onions, but JT does not eat soup.  In the past few years, he’s been more willing to experiment with food in general and soup has been on the table, as it were.  The soup that got him over the hurdle was pre-packaged noodle soup.  It wasn’t exactly gourmet, but it served its purpose.  Even better, he had a look at my homemade chicken noodle soup and allowed that he might enjoy a bowl of that.  It was a chicken soup miracle!

My recipe is simple but not written down.  That way, I can adjust amounts for the number of people who need to be fed.  Whenever possible, I boil the chicken in broth first and refrigerate it over night (I use boneless chicken breasts because I prefer white meat).  Cooking it a day in advance makes the chicken more tender and easier to shred.  The next day, I make a mirepoix of carrots, onions, celery, and garlic and sauté it in a bit of olive oil.  Then I add salt, pepper, and parsley (dried or fresh…..whatever I have on hand); the shredded chicken; and broth.  I bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Then I bring it to a second boil and add the noodles, cooking them in the soup broth according to the package directions.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge; the noodles will absorb the broth.  When we want to eat the leftovers, I add a cup or two of fresh broth and serve it up.  Easy and delicious!