A Day for Soup

My daughter is sick (just a cold, not the flu). She requested I make homemade chicken noodle soup. Apparently the Tomato Tortellini Soup the other day wasn't enough, LOL.

So, being a good mommy, I roasted some whole chicken breasts, got some stock I'd made before out of the freezer, and made homemade chicken noodle soup, complete with the thick Inn-Maid noodles she likes.

She's having her second or third bowl right now :-)

Then for dinner, she wanted Chicken and Dumplings, and I had just caught Tyler Florence's version on Tyler's Ultimate. So when I was done with the soup, I took the bones from the roasted chicken and made another stock (using Ina Garten's recipe, which is hands-down the best stock recipe I've ever encountered). Then used that to make the Tyler Florence Chicken and Dumplings.

FYI, his recipe calls for buttermilk, something I rarely have on hand (why can't they sell TEENY ones of that, like they do heavy cream? I always end up wasting so much of it). Anyway, I have the powdered buttermilk mix, which works just great, IMO.

No picture of the chicken and dumplings because my family was, quite literally, lined up at the stove the second I turned it off. We ate the whole pot in one night :-).

If you're interested, here's what I put in my chicken noodle soup:

Shirley's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2 whole chicken breasts, roasted at 375 degrees until cooked through, then meat is shredded
2 celery sticks
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups homemade chicken stock
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 package Inn-Maid egg noodles

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven. Add vegetables, cook until wilted. Add stock and bay leaves (I don't add other seasonings because my stock recipe is pretty well seasoned). Add freshly ground pepper and salt as needed to taste.

When vegetables are cooked through, add shredded chicken. Bring soup to a boil, add noodles and cook until noodles are tender--about 8 minutes or so.

The key to a great soup is the stock, IMO. A lot of people I know don't like to make homemade chicken (or beef) stock, but honestly it makes such a HUGE difference, it's worth it. If I don't make it the day I roast a chicken, then I save the bones in a bag in the freezer and make it later. It's truly an easy thing to make, and you just freeze the stock in small quantities (I do 1-cup, 2-cup and one big 6-cup; I generally make two batches of stock at once. I find the variety of sizes makes it easy when I need a cup for a recipe).

I love, love, love, Ina Garten's recipe for stock, as I mentioned. I love pretty much everything she makes. Her cookbooks are on my Christmas list, for sure (the only one I own is Barefoot Contessa At Home). And did you know, you can get them AUTOGRAPHED? That's what I want, cooking geek that I am. Sadly, I don't think my family reads my blog, LOL.

Anyway, soup is perfect for a cold, icky day!

Shirley