February/March 2003 - RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Soups & Sandwiches
Best Homemade Chicken Soup
by Dawn from Colorado
| Meals: |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| Serves: |
21 |
42 |
63 |
84 |
105 |
126 |
| Makes: |
8 quarts |
16 quarts |
24 quarts |
32 quarts |
40 quarts |
48 quarts |
| Ingredients: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chicken; see note |
4 lbs. |
8 lbs. |
12 lbs. |
16 lbs. |
20 lbs. |
24 lbs. |
| Chicken bouillon granules* |
1/2 C. |
1 C. |
1-1/2 C. |
2 C. |
2-1/2 C. |
3 C. |
| Carrots, sliced |
1 lb. |
2 lbs. |
3 lbs. |
4 lbs. |
5 lbs. |
6 lbs. |
| Celery, sliced |
8 oz. |
16 oz. |
24 oz. |
32 oz. |
40 oz. |
48 oz. |
| Grandma’s Egg noodles** |
16 oz. |
32 oz. |
48 oz. |
64 oz. |
80 oz. |
96 oz. |
| Note: use your favorite kind of chicken… one whole chicken, 1 cut up fryer, or 4-5 chicken breasts. | |
| * 1/2 C. bouillon granules equals about a 4 oz. jar. | ** Grandma’s Egg Noodles (or a similar brand) can be found in the freezer case. They are homemade, fresh noodles; not dried noodles like you find in the spaghetti aisle. |
Assembly Directions:
Fill an 8 quart stockpot about half full with water. Add the chicken and boil until the chicken is done and falling off the bones. Remove the chicken from the stockpot and set aside to cool. If necessary, add more water to the broth in the stockpot till it’s at least half full again. Add the bouillon, sliced carrots and celery to the stockpot. Boil for a few minutes, until the carrots and celery start to get tender. Meanwhile, de-bone and chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken to the stockpot. Taste the broth and see if it tastes good or if it is weak. If it’s weak, add more chicken bouillon, 1 T. at a time, until the flavor is right for you. Set aside to cool.
Freezing Directions:
Divide the cooled soup into 3 or 4 one-gallon
freezer bags. Divide the frozen noodles into 3 or 4
quart-size freezer bags, the same number as you
divided the soup into. Seal, label and freeze all
the bags.
Serving Directions:
Thaw a gallon-sized bag of soup and a quart-sized
bag of noodles overnight in the refrigerator. Put
the soup in a pot on the stove and heat to boiling.
Add the noodles and cook for about 7 minutes, or
until tender. Serve hot.
Editor’s Comments:
In talking to Dawn about this recipe, we both noticed when we made the soup, including noodles, and froze it, the noodles absorbed most of the broth. So when it was re-heated, we had to add water, which watered down the flavor. Dawn’s solution was to freeze the broth and noodles separate, and then re-heat them together. Which worked well, so problem solved!
Comments:
I’ve made
this soup for years now, and everyone rants and
raves about it being the best chicken noodle soup
ever. My husband won’t touch canned soup! The
servings listed above are based on a 1-1/2 C.
serving per adult.
If you can’t find homemade noodles in your freezer,
you can easily make your own. In a medium size bowl,
combine 1 C. flour and 1/2 t. salt. Make a well in
the flour, add 1 slightly beaten egg, and mix.
Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir
in 1 to 2 T. water. On a lightly floured surface,
knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes. With a pasta
machine, or a rolling pin, roll the dough out to the
desired thinness. Use the pasta machine or a pizza
cutter to cut into strips of your desired width.
Remember, the noodles will more then double in width
when they are cooked, so you’ll want to cut them
thin.
This page was last updated on Monday, June 02, 2008.
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