mom's chicken noodle soup

the first picture of this recipe is too disgusting to have on top, so i thought i'd start with a picture of the finished product, because doesn't it look good? let's get started!

my friend kara and her whole family were sick one day last week, so while i was at the grocery store i bought homemade chicken noodle soup fixin's. i hope they appreciated it, because i sure thought it was good. so here's what you need: 2-4 chicken breasts, bones and skin on, 1 chopped onion, 1-2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, a package of egg noodles, chicken bouillon, and water.

start by boiling the chicken. you put the chicken in a (big) pot and pour water on top of it. make sure the water is higher than the chicken breasts. add a tablespoon of salt (or however much you want, really) and skim off the fat with a spoon,
then add your diced onion and let it boil together for an hour.time for vegetables. check out this carrot! have you ever seen a bigger carrot? it must have been 18 inches long. nuts.
anyway, peel your carrots, and cut off the ends. then slice into....slices. i'm good with words, no?

it's been an hour, remove your chicken from the water and set aside to cool,

and add your carrots to the chicken-water. oooh, doesn't that sound appetizing? i should write my own cook book. "chicken water". yum.use a potato peeler (or a knife, if you're handy with a knife like my mom) to peel your potatoes, then wash and dice into bite size pieces.
and add them to your pot.
chop up some celery. i despise celery, so i rarely put it in. but the recipe calls for it, and it adds something to the soup (something disgusting, that is), so here it is. chop up some celery.
now that your chicken is cool(er), remove the skin. mmmm, chicken skin. delish.
so that it looks like this!
now peel it off the bones, and shred it or cut it into smaller pieces.
and add that in too. oh, and add in some chicken bouillon here too. 2 cubes or 1 tbsp. of granules.
now cook and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

ten minutes before you're ready to eat, bring it to a boil.
and pour in half a package of egg noodles. my mom makes homemade noodles that are AMAZING, and i've done them once or twice, but using egg noodles is a real time saver. and let's face it, we all like timesavers, right? some day i'll post the recipe and pictures of the noodles.

or not.
cook and stir for however long egg noodles need (ten minutes if they're homemade, about 7 if they're egg). serve in a bowl (or a plate...duh, how obvious can i be?), and enjoy!

perfect for the crisp, fall days that are coming our way.

mom's chicken noodle soup
2-4 chicken breasts, bones and skin on
1 diced onion
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1-2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cubes or 1 tbsp. chicken bouillon
1/2 package of egg noodles

place chicken in a large pot and cover it with water, adding salt to taste. bring to a boil, skimming off fat. once all the fat is gone, add in the onion. boil together for an hour. remove chicken to cool, then add the carrots, potatoes, celery, and bouillon. remove the skin from the chicken, dice the chicken into bite size pieces, and add to the soup. cook together 20-30 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft(er than raw). when you're ready to eat, bring the soup to a boil and add the noodles. cook for 7-8 minutes. serve with celery salt and saltine crackers (or a slice of homemade bread, if you're feeling ambitious). this freezes really well, by the way, so make plenty and freeze the rest!