Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

So it's that time of the year, when everyone is running for the tissue aisle because of gooey snot dripping from their noses. There is definitely something going around this year that seems worse than past years. I've been sick off and on for the past few months (I blame the kids). I went to work for the past two days and sounded like a 13-year old boy going through puberty. KZ even makes fun of the way I say "hi" because I sound like an old man who's smokes a pack/day.

Most of the time, I go about my day as normal, but throw myself an internal pity party because I'm sick and want someone to take care of me. Why can't we all go back to when we were kids and we had no care in the world? So in my gloomy state, I brought myself to the grocery store (mostly to pick up more Thera-flu) and bought some supplies: a raw whole chicken, a stalk of celery, a bunch of carrots, an onion, and a bunch of cilantro. I was determined to kick this sickness away with some old-fashioned, homemade chicken noodle soup.

Coming from a Vietnamese household, my family's chicken noodle soup was pho, which was rather fortunate considering the world seems to love the dish. The first time I learned about what classic chicken noodle soup was, there was a TV commercial that battled Campbell and Progressive. So I convinced my mom to buy a can of Progressive Chicken Noodle Soup because I liked can more than the plain red and white Campbell's can. My mind was blown! How could something so simple taste so amazing? So now every time KZ and I are sick, I whip up a pot of chicken noodle soup and can pretend for just a few moments that I'm all better.

So back to me walking through my favorite place, the grocery store. I picked up all the usual supplies and sauntered into the spice aisle, where I picked up a little something extra: celery salt. What's so great about celery salt? It's salt but celery-flavored. Meaning I can add salt to my soup with additional celery goodness. Okay, I might be the only one excited over this, but trust me, it's that little extra that'll make your soup that much better. Also I use it for other seasoning as well (keep on the lookout for a brined and roasted turkey recipe in the near future). Alright, let's get down to business and whip us up some soup before I prattle on anymore about celery salt.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole chicken, thawed

• 1 large yellow onion, sliced

• 1 Tbsp canola oil

• 1 celery stalk, sliced

• 4 large carrots, sliced

• 10 c chicken broth

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 Tbsp ground black pepper

• A dash of celery salt

• 1 box/bag of extra-wide egg noodles (the short, spiral kind) or whatever pasta you want (KZ likes penne)

• Cilantro for toppings (you can use parsley, but personally I like cilantro)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook pasta: Boil water in a large pot over high heat. Toss in your pasta of choice. Sprinkle a dash of salt into the pasta water. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain water and set pasta aside.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with a dash of pepper and salt. In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook until skin is dark golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.

3. In same pot over medium-high heat, toss in sliced onions until soft and translucent and combined with chicken drippings.

4. Place chicken back into the pot. Pour in your chicken broth. Toss in celery, carrots, bay leaves, celery salt, and black pepper. Reduce heat to low-medium and bring to a simmer, covered until chicken is tender. Skim froth and fat off the top of your broth as you're cooking.

5. Place chicken on a plate and set aside to cool. Once cool, pull meat off the bones and shred into smaller pieces, discard bones. Return chicken meat back to broth.

6. Grab a bowl and scoop your noodles and soup. Top with some cilantro or parsley, whichever you prefer, and enjoy!

#soup #comfort #chicken