Friday, January 2, 2009

Chicken Noodle Soup

Back to basics...
As the junior league, self-proclaimed foodie I figured I could begin from square one. Cooking doesn't come easy to everyone. Getting the basics down can get you there...
I couldn't make a puff pastry if my life depended on it.

It's friggin cold. Warm up, save some money, make some soup.

To perform this cooking task successfully:
1 large pot
2 knives (one for chicken, one for vegetables)
a cutting board (or nothing if you don't care that your counter top goes to shit)
potato peeler (optional)

For the soup part:
5 cups pre-made chicken stock/broth
2-3 chicken breasts (for simplicity sake)
3 large carrots (peel on or off, you choose) diced
1/2 small nappa cabbage cut into small strips
1 package mushroom (I recommend baby bellas) sliced
2 cups dry wavy egg noodles
salt
pepper

Pour the chicken stock into the large pot and set on the stove at medium heat. Once the broth begins to simmer add the whole raw chicken breasts. Cook until opaque. remove from stock and cut into small chucks. Season the chicken with a little salt and black pepper. Return to pot.

A little side note: don't worry if the chicken is not completely cooked when you cut it up. It is just easier to deal with when it is cooked versus raw. Plus it's going right back in the pot so it will continue to cook through.

Continue to simmer chicken chunks and stock. Add diced carrots, cabbage, and mushrooms. Allow vegetables to reduce in size as they cook. Lastly, add the dry wavy egg noodle. Cook until tender. Make sure not to over cook the noodles. Add more than 2 cups if you like.

Don't do canned chicken noodle. This is much better and you can avoid the celery. Hey soup guy, STOP PUTTING CELERY INTO EVERYTHING! Gross. Stay on the side with the bleu cheese where you belong.

-BananaWoo

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