hearty chicken noodle soup

When you are sick or when your tummy is not up for heavy food, chicken noodle soup is a perfect (and complete) meal in a bowl! This is a very simple recipe and easy to make. You can also make in big batch and keep them in Ziploc freezer bags (when it's all cooled down, of course!) or freezer-safe containers and keep them in your freezer for future use.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast - 1 (cubed)
Carrots - 3 med or 2 large (diced)
Celery - 2 stalks (diced)
Potatoes - 2 med (diced) *See TIPS
Onion - 1 med (diced)

Chicken stock - 4 cups
Water - 2 cups
(or you can use 6 cups of water and 2 TBS chicken granules)

Italian seasoning - 1/2 TBS
Salt - 2 tsp
White pepper - 2 tsp

egg noodles - 1 cup dry (cooked separately)  or make your own (see below)

[homemade noodle]

Egg - 1 (beaten)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 2 TBS
All-purpose flour - 1 cup (sifted)
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp (see TIPS)

Prep: 

1. Cut all ingredients in cubes or dice. 
2. Season chicken cubes with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
3. [noodle] mix all ingredients in a bowl, knead until it forms a ball. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Using a pastry roller or pasta roller, roll out to 0.5cm thick. Cut in desired lengths and shapes (see TIPS). Let it dry for about 2 hours (at least an hour) on a floured surface.
4. If you are using store-bought noodles, cook them separately and set is aside.

dice all veggies

Season cubed chicken

[noodle] mix everything

On a floured surface, roll to 0.5cm thickness

Cut in your favorite shapes

Ready to go in the pot

Cook: 

1. In a large pot, put 6 cups of chicken stock + water.
2. Add the veggies and boil for about 20 minutes. 
3. Add chicken and boil for another 20 minutes. 
4. Add seasonings. Add more water if it looks too dry. Make sure you adjust your seasonings according to how much water you put. 
5. Lower the heat and boil for an hour to hour and a half. (see TIPS)
6. 10 minutes before serving, put in the homemade (or store-bought) noodles. Boil for 10 minutes on medium high heat.

Serve: 

1. Serve with bread or with other main dish. 

TIPS

• If you like your soup to be clear, don't add potatoes. Potatoes will thicken the soup after boiling for couple of hours. 
• For the homemade noodles, if you like your noodle texture to be fluffy, add 1/2 tsp of baking powder. But if you like it more dense, just add 1/4 tsp.
• For fun, using small cookie cutter, cut the noodles in different shapes (e.g. stars, hearts, etc). This will be a big hit with kids (especially if they are sick!)
• If you are in a hurry, the soup should be ready in 50 minutes. The longer you boil, the thicker the texture will be.