10.27.08

Good morning!

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in Austin. This weather is another reason why I love this time of the year so much. I wish our summers were like this!

I spent all weekend recovering from a painful root canal on Friday, so I worked on the computer a lot, building a new website for our central Texas scrapbooking club. So excited about it! It should be revealed this week in a club newsletter. If you are from Texas and would like to be on the club mailing list and/or join the club (it's free!) just let me know!

It's going to be a cool day today, so tonight I'm making some homemade chicken noodle soup. I've had this recipe for years and we love it. Since I've been making it for so long, I sometimes will eyeball things in the recipe, so I'm doing the best I can here to pass on the recipe. :) Here you go!

Jennifer's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken breast meat, shredded (I use 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)

1 med. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (I use the jar kind!)

butter, margarine, or olive oil

1 large carrot, grated (or chopped into little bite-size pieces)

8 oz. egg noodles (I'm using whole wheat noodles)

8 oz. container sliced fresh mushrooms (no canned, yuck)

7 chicken bouillon cubes

4 c. good chicken stock/broth

salt, pepper, sage, favorite seasonings

Note: In this recipe is how I cook the chicken. I like it browned and flavorful, not boiled and bland. But if you have a different way of getting the chicken cooked, go for it. Another yummy way is to rub the raw chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Lay on a baking sheet and roast them at 400 degrees until they brown. Yum again! Then you would just shred them and add to the recipe at the appropriate time...

Directions:

1, Heat up a little butter/margarine/olive oil (your preference) in a large saute' pan. When melted, add 1/2 of the chopped onions and saute until translucent. Add the minced garlic and saute another few minutes, not letting the garlic burn. Spoon out most of the onion/garlic mixture into a bowl and set aside. (leave a little in there!)

2. Now add a little more butter/margarine/olive oil to the pan and let it heat. Add your whole boneless chicken breasts to the pan and cook on each side until well browned, seasoning with salt and pepper on each side. When browned, remove from the pan, set aside, and shred when cool.

3. Don't clean the pan yet! In the SAME pan, add a little more butter/margarine/olive oil and saute the rest of the onions and all of the fresh mushrooms. Let them get a little browned. Remove from the pan into a small bowl and set aside.

4. In a big stockpot, boil about 8 cups of water and add your bouillon cubes. Pour in the chicken stock/broth. You don't want this to be watery and clear, so make sure it's nice and rich by adding more broth or bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and add the egg noodles. Boil noodles until almost done. Add the shredded chicken, the onion/garlic mixture, the mushrooms, and shredded carrot. Salt and pepper and check for taste! You can add some sage or rosemary or whatever herbs you like as well.

5. Note: If you want a thicker soup, remove about 1 cup of liquid and add 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch. Whisk together and pour back into the soup.

6. Continue to heat over low heat until all ingredients are hot. Yum! Serve with some hot crusty bread!

"See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little." ~Pope John XXIII