... homemade chicken noodle soup

Sometimes... you're down in the dumps, your nose is running, your throat is scratchy, and maybe the fever you've been developing is at full blast and all you want to do is curl up in bed and sleep the day away.

Being sick-- well, it sucks. Especially when it's hot out and laying in bed in the middle of August is like wearing a snow suit to the beach. And maybe eating homemade chicken noodle soup is akin to that snow suit at the beach with a heat lamp, but I don't care. I still think one of the best things in the world when you're not feeling great is homemade soup. And if you've got a crisper drawer full of veggies from the farm, it's even better.

homemade chicken (gluten free!) noodle soup
makes about 4 bowls of soup.

you'll definitely need:
2 chicken breasts (bone in and skin on... for extra tasty flavor)
1 roughly chopped half of a medium sized onion
1 roughly chopped carrots
1-2 roughly chopped celery stalks
a little over 2 quarts of chicken stock (if you buy this in the store, make sure it's gluten free!*)
a couple of sprigs of parsley (totally optional, btw)

All of this stuff cooks up to make the chicken you'll later shred and the stock you will later cook the tasty bits in.

the tasty bits (feel free to throw in whatever you have in the fridge, actually... it makes it better):
2-3 small red potatoes
1-2 chopped carrots
1 celery stalk, trimmed and sliced up
1 zucchini, cut into bit sized quarters
a handful of trimmed green beans
3/4 uncooked gluten free pasta (I like Tinkyada's fusili)

1. First, pour the chicken stock into a medium sized pot. Let the broth and chicken come up to a boil over medium high heat. Scoop off the fat and foamy stuff that collects along the top. After skimming off the fats and the foam, toss the roughly chopped onion, carrot, and celery in with the chicken and stock. Let this simmer over a low heat for about 40 minutes.

2. Remove chicken and set aside to cool... once it's cooled off, shred it up to your desired size. after setting the chicken aside, take the reserved stock and strain out the chunky bits and throw away the veggies that were cooking in it.

3. Start a small pot of water for about a cup of gluten free pasta... prepare this al dente (and then run it through cold water in a colander) since it will wind up continuing to cook in your soup.

3 1/2. Take the strained stock and put it back into the pot and add in the chopped tasty bits and vegetables. Allow this to simmer on the stove until the veggies and potatoes are cooked-- about 20 minutes. Add in the shredded chicken and the pasta.


Voila!






* Unfortunately, lots of brands add in wheat flour to their chicken stocks... be sure you read the labels carefully-- some brands don't indicate gluten free... and for me, if it doesn't disclose it, I just don't buy it.