Homemade Chicken (or Turkey) Noodle Soup

The ultimate comfort food. Who doesn't like Chicken Noodle Soup?

I was  sitting in my office at work the other day when one of my staff walked into my office with a cup of instant chicken noodle soup. The smell was so comforting and I instantly wanted some.  So on the weekend, I went to the grocery store and wandered down the soup isle until I found the cup-a-soup. But I just couldn't bring myself to buying it. I knew if I wanted tasty, satisfying Chicken Noodle Soup, that I would need to make it myself.

As I was buying all the ingredients, I noticed that there were turkey parts available in the poultry section, so I thought I would put a little twist on the classic, but of course, you could make it with a whole chicken or chicken parts as I usually do.

The result was so delicious, and honestly, it is quite simple to make. You could make a whole stock pot and then freeze the stock for later use as well.

Chicken or Turkey Noodle Soup

Makes a lot!

1 Whole Chicken or Equivalent amount of bone-in pieces, rinsed

OR

Bone in Turkey Parts (I used 2 thighs and 4 wings), rinsed

5 Large Carrots, diced

2 Large Onions, diced

5 Stalks Celery, diced

5 Cloves Garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

2 Bay Leaves

1 tsp Whole Black Peppercorns

Water

Olive Oil

1 cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped

Egg Noodles

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of the carrots, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the celery and 3 cloves of garlic and cook until the vegetables just start to soften. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and the turkey or chicken parts. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the poultry. Bring up to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let simmer for at least 1 hour, although longer is better (I usually simmer for about 2 hours).

Remove the stock pot from the heat, take out the poultry pieces and strain the soup.

**(At this point, I like to cool the broth down completely in an ice bath and put in the in the fridge overnight so that I can skim off the fat. You can skip this step if you don't want to skim off the fat.

**If you are making this for another day or in quantity, you could divide the strained and cooled broth into containers to freeze as well.

When you want to serve: (note, this can be scaled up or down depending on how many servings you want to make at one time). Cut the poultry meat into cubes. Heat some olive oil in a pot large enough for the quantity of soup you are preparing. Cook the remaining carrots, onions, celery and garlic until the onions become translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add the broth and bring up to a boil. Add diced turkey. Add the egg noodles and cook as per the package instructions. Once the noodles are cooked, stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!