chicken noodle soup

There are about as many recipes for chicken noodle soup as there are people in the world.

Lovers of chicken soup are good folks. just because it makes you feel so good and there is nothing wrong with that. just pour a big bowl and eat and be merry.

I with take responsibility for I love a lot of veggies and great tasting broth in my chicken soup

It make common sense to use the whole chicken in this soup each part plays a role in the making the soup.

Chopping the chicken in pieces and removing the skin is a good thing to do.

fresh cut up veggie is a wrap in this soup like, celery ,carrots, and onions

Add those big flat noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

3-pound chicken, in parts or 3 pounds chicken pieces of your choice

8 cups water

2 bay leaf

salt and black pepper to taste

1 large carrot,

1 large celery stalk,

3 ounces dried egg noodles, wide ones

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large (5-quart) heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes, until beginning to take on color at edges. Add the chicken pieces (if too crowded, can do this in two batches), making little wells in the onions so that the parts can touch the bottom of the pan directly. Cook chicken parts until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add water, bay leaf, table salt and some freshly ground black pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim any (sorry for lack of better term) scum that appears at the surface of the pot. Simmer pot gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken parts to a plate to cool a bit before handling. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl (ideally, with a spout) and pour soup through it.
If your pot looks grimy and you’re fanatical about having a clear soup, you can give it a quick wash before returning the broth to the pot. You can remove a bit of fat at this point, if it looks necessary. Bring the broth back to a simmer.

You may be tempted at this point to taste it and add more salt. I know this because I do it every single time, adding another teaspoon, and every. single. time. I regret this as it is too salty in the end. So, proceed with any re-seasoning with caution.

Add diced vegetables and simmer them until they’re firm-tender, about 5 minutes. Add dried noodles and cook them according to package directions, usually 6 to 9 minutes. While these simmer, remove the skin and chop the flesh from a couple pieces of chicken, only what you’re going to use. You won’t need all of it in the soup. I usually use the breasts first because they’re my least favorite and benefit the most from the extra moisture of the soup. The remaining parts can be slipped into an airtight bag in the fridge (I recommend leaving the skin on for retained moisture until needed).

Once noodles have cooked, add chicken pieces just until they have rewarmed through (30 seconds) and ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with dill or parsley, dig in and let it fix everything that went wrong with your day.

If planning ahead, the point where you strain your chicken broth is a great place to pause. Refrigerate the chicken broth until the next day. Before heating it and finishing the recipe, you can easily remove any solidified fat from the surface for a virtually fat-free soup. Then, you can cook the vegetables and noodles to order, adding the chicken only so that it can rewarm (and not overcook!). If making the broth more than a day in advance, you might as well freeze it. I recommend freezer bags with as much air as possible pressed out. Freezing the bags flat will make it easier to stack and store with other frozen soups, and the bag will only require a short soak in warm water to defrost.

Onion Soup

Onion Soup [Soupe à l’Oignon]


I had to share this wonderful onion soup....It's real good!

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1 1/2 pounds  about 5 cupsthinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons 1 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
1 tablespoon  olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste
1/4 teaspoon  granulated sugar (helps the onions to brown)
3 tablespoons  7/8 ounce all-purpose flour
2 quarts 8 cups beef or other brown stock*
1/2 cup  dry white wine or dry white vermouth
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons  cognac or brandy (optional)
To finish [Gratinée] (Optional)
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss (I often use Gruyere) or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
12 to 16 1-inch thick rounds French bread, toasted until hard


Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention; you can even go check your email.
 
After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. Don’t skimp on this step, as it will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup. Plus, from here on out, it will be a cinch.

After the onions are fully caramelized, sprinkle them with flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed but go easy on the salt as the cheese will add a bit more saltiness and I often accidentally overdo it. Stir in the cognac, if using. I think you should.

Set aside until needed. I find that homemade onion soup is so deeply fragrant and flavor-rich that it can stand alone, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the graitinéed top once in a while. Here’s how to pull it off:
Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine.

 Dab your croutons with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you. [Julia Child, in another era, felt that 1/2 cup of grated cheese could be divided among 6 bowls. I can assure you that if you'd like your gooey bubbling cheese lid to be anything like what you get at your local French restaurant, you are looking to use more, such as a generous 1/4 cup.]

Bake soups on tray for 20 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Grab pot holders, and serve immediately.

Spicy Apple Stew

Spiced, stewed apples have been a wintry staple for me as long as I can remember.I love eating them with ice cream.


Ingredients:

 2 tablespoons butter

 approximately 3 1/2 cups of apples, sliced (I used 3 small gala)

 1/4 cup sugar (I used slightly less, in a small effort to be “healthy”)

 1/4 cup brown sugar (used slightly less, for the same reason as above)

 1 teaspoon cinnamon

 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

 1/4 cup water

Directions:

In a skillet (with a lid), melt butter over medium heat. Turn off heat when butter is melted. Add sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the water to the skillet, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to boil until ingredients begin to thicken. Turn heat to medium and stir in apple slices, ensuring they are well-coated. Cook at medium for 4-5 minutes, stirring, to allow sauce to thicken. Reduce heat to low, cover apples, and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. This should take about another 5-10 minutes. Add more water if necessary, as cooking time will depend on how thick your apple slices are. Sauce will thicken a bit as it cools.