Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Sarah's favorite soup when she's sick is my homemade Chicken Noodle soup. I figured out this recipe a while back and it never fails to make her feel better. I've made it two ways - the long way and the not so homemade way. Both are great, but the long way is better.

The long way - involves cooking a whole bird first...

For the Bird:
1 whole chicken
1 large onion coarsely sliced
2 carrots quartered sliced about 3"ish long
3 celery sticks cut into 3"ish long pieces
2 tablespoons of sage
4 tablespoons of salt
5-6 whole peppercorns

For the soup:
Egg noodles (Use your preferred size. We like the fine ones you get in the kosher food section)
Enough chicken broth to cook the noodles
1 lime
1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
3 spring onions finely chopped
Salt to taste.

First you start by cooking the chicken. Remove the neck, liver and heart from the chicken. Add the neck and the chicken to a large stock pot. (The neck adds flavor to the broth.) Add in the salt, peppercorns, sage and veggies. Bring to a boil and then turn it back to simmer until done. The trick is to slowly cook the chicken. It helps to keep it tender. Use a meat thermometer to see if it's done.

When it's done, remove the chicken from the pot. Strain out the stock into a separate bowl and dispose of the veggies and neck. Keep this stock. It's choc full of flavor.

Tear off chicken from the carcass and shred.

Soup Directions:

Warning: This is not a soup that's good after sitting in the fridge. Only make enough for to eat for that specific sitting.

Cook enough noodles for you and your guests in the left over chicken broth. Add in ground mustard and ginger while it's cooking. Add in your desired amount of chicken. When done, remove from heat and squeeze in the juice of one lime and add the spring onions. Taste the broth and add salt if needed. Serve.

The shorter way:

Store brand chicken stock
Chicken tenders (uncooked)
1 teaspoon of sage
1 lime
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 spring onions finely sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring store brand stock to a boil. Add in chicken tenders and reduce heat to a simmer. Add in sage, ginger and mustard. When tenders are done, remove from broth. Bring broth to a boil and add in the noodles. While they cook, shred the chicken. When the noodles are done, add chicken, juice of one lime and spring onions. Salt and pepper to taste.

I prefer the long way, but at times I need the soup fast. This is a really loose recipe. The whole chicken method will give you a few pots of soup or leave you with enough chicken left over for a casserole or chicken salad.