Chicken Noodle Soup

Fall is the perfect time to eat soup.  Unfortunately its also the time when most of us get sick.  I'm one of those lucky ones.  Monkey and I both caught some sort of cold-like bug and its miserable.  Moms and kids shouldn't get sick at the same time!  Today I was really feeling the soup crave ands since I had a chicken carcass hanging out in my fridge from the other night, I felt this the perfect time to try my hand at making homemade chicken soup.  I've never done it before.  My mom makes great turkey soup after Thanksgiving and always asks me if I want the carcass, but I've always been too scared.  Now I have NO idea why.  

Its SO easy!  

And tasty!  

Oh, and it helped me feel better!

• 1 whole chicken {or turkey} carcass {we had a Costco rotisserie chicken the other night, so I saved the carcass from that}
• 2-4 cups chopped carrots
• 1/2-1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Noodles {I used penne rice noodles for our gluten-free family members}
• salt & pepper to taste

Place carcass in large pot.  Cover with water {I fill it until its about an inch above the carcass}.  You can throw in whatever herbs you want if you please.  Put a lid on it and and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about an hour to 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone {the longer, the more flavor you'll draw from the chicken!}.  

Strain the meat and bones out of the broth.  I do this by placing a strainer in/over another large pot and pouring it in.  Take out the strainer and sift through the rubble.  Take out all of the bones, fat, skin...whatever else you don't wanna bite in to.  

At this point if you made too much broth or just want to have some good, preservative-free chicken broth for later, let it cool, then freeze it {ziplock bags or ice cube trays work great!).  

Throw the good edible stuff back into the pot of broth. 

Toss in the carrots, celery, and onions and/or whatever other veggies you'd like to add {zucchinis good in it too, but you might want to put them in a little later so they don't get too soggy}.  I also threw in some salt at this point {about 1/2-1 tsp}.  

Bring to a boil; turn down and simmer until carrots are nice and soft.  If you want to add noodles, add about 10 minutes before the carrots are ready {Depending on what type you use...check the package, it might take more or less time.  I used rice noodles and am not a big fan of the starchy paste it creates when you boil it, so I boiled them in a separate pot, then threw the cooked noodles in the pot when the veggies were done.  Its not as good that way, but it sure beats the yucky starch buildup!}

When the veggies are soft, you know you're done!  

Taste the broth and see how it is.  Add more salt and some pepper if you'd like.  

Spoon it up and enjoy!

I'm telling you, this is SO easy!