chicken noodle soup "from scratch"

welcome to thursday!  our first soup up is chicken noodle.  after reading lots of reviews, i settled on using this recipe as my base.  the picture above is also from that recipe - my soup ended up looking very similar to it.

i'll start with my notes before jumping into the recipe itself, as it has been updated per these notes.  always incorporate the things you've learned, right??

overall review: mike and i love this soup.  our "raters" at our soup night gave it very good reviews.  it's so simple that i would be hesitant to serve it to company, but it will be forever on my recipe rotation from now on!  mike is always excited when i pull it out for dinner, or for his lunch.  yay!  :-)

note 1: i love, love, love making stock.  a friend encouraged me to try it, and see for myself how easy it is - and after the first time, i'm a believer!  it's free (you use things you would have otherwise thrown away), and better for you than canned broth.  that being said, if stock isn't on your radar right now, just swap it out for broth!

note 2: i didn't add any oil or salt to soup, and didn't miss them.  however, many of the recipes i perused would have recommended adding 1 teaspoon oil and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt to a recipe like this.

note 3: i didn't cook my noodles before adding them to the soup, and i so wish i had.  they sopped up so much of the broth as they cooked, that the consistency was more like a casserole than a soup.  mike and i have still gobbled it down like crazy, but that is the last time i will put uncooked noodles into a soup!

note 4: i used a whole rotisserie chicken.  i KNOW.  i read in a review that you do this instead of chicken breast, for extra flavor, and diversity of meat.  the reviewer recommended dropping the whole thing in for a bit, so that the skin could give the soup its flavor, before chopping it up.  it was a hassle, but i do think that it added a lovely bit of depth to the soup's flavor.  if this sounds like a pain to you, swap the rotisserie chicken with 3 cups of diced, cooked chicken breast.

without further ado, here's the recipe!

chicken noodle soup "from scratch"

2 1/2 cups of wide egg noodles
12 cups of chicken stock/broth
1 teaspoon basil
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup corn starch
14 cup water
1 rotisserie chicken

1.  cook egg noodles per bag's instructions; set aside.
2.  saute onions and garlic in large pot.  once the onion is clear, add the stock, basil, bay leaves, and pepper; bring to a boil.
3.  add the celery, carrots, and rotisserie chicken to the stock, and reduce heat.  cook ~15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
4.  remove the rotisserie chicken from the stock and dice; i threw away the skin.  save your bones for future stock!!  ;-)  toss the meat back into the soup.
5.  mix the corn starch and water together, and gradually add to the soup.
6.  stir in the noodles.

this recipe microwaves well.  pull it out for lunch during a grouchy workweek, or when the weather is just too darn cold outside.  i do not, however, recommend freezing it - the noodles get a little soggy.  enjoy!!