Chicken Soup - Recipe

When I was about 8 years old, my grandmother moved in with us.  One of my favorite things about having my grandmother with us was her chicken noodle soup when I was sick.  There is nothing else on earth as wonderful as her Chicken Noodle Soup.  Now that I have four children of my own, this recipe is the first thing we grab when someone is sick. 

When we picked up the kids from my parents house on Sunday night (they were there while Dan and I were in Chicago with his mom), Abram was so sick.  He ended up getting sick on Friday - His birthday.  We were so sad to be missing his birthday but even more so because he was so sick.  Today is his first day feeling mostly better.  It was nasty.  So, last night I pulled out the trusty recipe and made a HUGE pot of soup.  

Make a run to the store and get cooking.  Oh, and you might as well throw away your chicken soup recipe because once you try this, nothing will compare!!!

Note that this is for a double recipe.  I never make a single batch because we love the leftovers!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

5 carrots

4 celery ribs

1 medium to large onion

2 16oz packages sliced mushrooms

3 quarts chicken broth or stock

6-8 chicken breasts or 2 rotisserie chickens

1 bag kluski noodles

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons sugar

salt and pepper

turmeric

mace

I prefer to use cooked chicken breasts, but you can use whatever works for you.   If you are using a rotisserie (I've done this when I didn't have as much time) pull off the meat first.  Otherwise cook your chicken in the oven.  Don't cook it until it's dry.  Dry chicken doesn't taste good in anything!

 In a large stock pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Now you're going to chop your veggies.  I cut mine small so that when you take a spoonful, you're getting more than one large chunk of food.  It's more hearty to use a lot of small ingredients... I think.

Chop your onion.

 Chop the celery ribs.  I cut them in 3-4 long strips and then start chopping.  You don't want them too big.

 Peel and chop 4 of your carrots.

 Over medium heat, cook all of your veggies until soft, but not mushy.

 Add three quarts of chicken stock (or broth).

 Chop your chicken and add it to the pot.

 Wash your mushrooms and add them to the pot.

Add a whole 12 oz bag of kluski noodles.  If you prefer, you can use egg noodles, but I find them to be too big.

 You should now have this.  Don't worry, the mushrooms cook down.  It won't look like mushroom soup when we're done. Cook this until the mushrooms are soft and the noodles are tender.

 Now the spices.  I'm not one for measuring anything so I'm not exactly sure how much I put in my soup, but here is a picture of each in my hand before I added them.  Just add to taste.

 Pepper.

 Salt.

 Turmeric.  This adds to the color.  Don't skip this one!

 Mace.  This is what makes the soup!  It's strong stuff, so go easy. 

 In a separate skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.

 Grate one smaller carrot (about 4 tablespoons).

 Add 4 tablespoons of sugar.

 Stir continuously.  The butter will begin to turn orange and start to caramelize.  Remove from the heat.

 Add the carrot mix to the soup and stir it well.  Adjust any seasonings if you need.

Enjoy your warm bowl of medicine!  There's nothing better!