Chicken (or Turkey) Noodle Soup
(courtesy of Jennifer Rachel Baumer. Serves 4)
About 1 to 2 cups chopped chicken or turkey, cooked or uncooked
1 tablespoon butter
2 to 4 stalks celery, chopped to about ½-inch pieces
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cups water and 6 chicken bouillon cubes or equivalent OR 6 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 cup frozen corn kernels
Egg noodles or No Yolks egg noodles, extra broad —about 6 ounces
In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat. Sauté onion and celery until tender, then remove if meat is uncooked; cook chicken completely before adding the vegetables back in. If you’re using poultry that’s already cooked, just heat it coated in the melted butter at the same time you sauté vegetables. (This is a great recipe if you make stock from turkey carcass and use the last bits of turkey meat for the soup. I may love the turkey noodle soup more than the chicken.)
Chicken & vegetables brown in a sauté pan
While chicken and vegetables cook, either heat 6 cups of water to make chicken bouillon or measure out 6 cups of stock. Once the chicken and vegetables are ready, add stock and heat to nearly boiling. Add frozen corn and let soup come back up to nearly boiling. Add noodles and turn soup to simmer loosely covered until noodles are soft (or until you’re ready for it). This is a good time to add a twist of freshly ground black pepper and maybe lightly salt the soup.
Before serving, if you want a thicker soup, take out a cup that’s more chicken and vegetables than noodles and purée it a bit in the blender before stirring it back into pot.
This soup keeps well, freezes well, and tastes great cold the next day if you’re so inclined. Enjoy it with a slab of warm cheese bread!
