Chicken Noodle Soup

I can hardly believe it either.  Yes I am posting again!  I probably have lost all the people who ever was following this, but that's ok because I have found that this blog makes an excellent cookbook for myself.  I have had to refer to it many times to find lost recipes that I had entered months ago that I no longer could find in my "recipe drawer" (i.e. a junk drawer filled with cookbooks with no covers and a bunch of tattered paper with recipes scribbled on them).  So at the very least this blog serves as an organized place for me to keep track of things I don't want to forget.  I thought I would start posting some soup recipes because, well, it's just what sounded good on this rainy day.

What better soup to start with than the basic chicken noodle soup.  My kids love my mom's the best.  I called my mom this morning to find out exactly what she does different than me and this is the recipe she gave me.  We all enjoyed some for lunch today.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredients:
2 quart (8 cups) of water, or chicken broth*
1 chicken breast
carrots (I used about 1 cup of mini carrots)
celery (I used about 3-4 stalks)
onion (I used 3 leaks instead)
1 cup dry noodles (I used orzo pasta)

*My mom adds 2 heaping Tablespoons of Superior Touch "better than bouillon" to the water after the chicken and vegetables have simmered.  I didn't have this so I just used water with 8 chicken bouillon cubes to begin with.  My mom's way is better, but I used what I had.  You can find Superior Touch at Kroger.

So this is pretty basic.  All you do is put all the ingredients in a pot and let it simmer until the chicken breast is done (mine was frozen when I put it in) and the vegtables are tender.  This takes about a half hour.

After it has simmered about 1/2 hour, skim all the ingredients out of the broth.  If the water has too much foam on it from the chicken you can strain it.  Mine did not this time, but for some reason that happens every so often.

At this point you can discard the vegetables.  I asked my kids if they wanted them in the soup and they said (to my surprise) that they did.  I chopped up the carrots and the chicken to add to the final soup. Before adding them, however, bring the broth to a boil and add the noodles.  Boil for as long as the package suggests.  If you are using Superior Touch bouillon you would add 2 heaping Tablespoons at this time.  After the noodles are cooked, add the vegetables and the chicken.

And now your soup is done.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the new season upon us!