In honor of the March 13 holiday, National Chicken Noodle Soup Day, I will be making a nice pot of soup for my family. Nothing uses a bounty of fresh, local vegetables like soup (well, a good stir fry will use some veggies, too, but it’s not stir fry day). Did you know that a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup has only 8% chicken? I don’t know about you, but I like more than that in my soup, so I’ll be making my own.

The first component to good chicken soup is having homemade chicken stock. I love making my own chicken stock because it makes use of something (the chicken carcass) that would otherwise be tossed away and turns it into something that is far superior to anything you can buy in a can or box at the grocery. I also love making stock because I can do it while I do a half-dozen other things like cleaning, doing laundry or (my favorite) watching football. Football is sadly over for another six months, but I’ll be spring cleaning the house and working on some volunteer projects instead. If you finish a roast chicken, but don’t have time to make stock, wrap up the chicken bones and freeze them until you are ready. It’s totally worth it.

Making soup is a forgiving process. With few exceptions, you can make substitutions and use whatever you have on hand and it will be good. My favorite soup to make is an Italian Ribolita–I’ll post that recipe at some point–because it uses up a lot of leftover fresh vegetables and is incredibly satisfying in the fall and winter. But today is chicken noodle soup day, so let’s get started…

Chicken Stock

• 1 chicken carcass or leftover chicken bones
• 1 organic onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2-3 cloves organic garlic, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
• 2-3 organic celery stalks or leftover tops, cleaned and cut into large pieces
• 3 organic carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf

1. Put all ingredients into a large stock pot and fill pot with water to cover all.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Skim any foam off the surface and reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer on stove for 1-2 hours.
5. Take pot from heat and allow to cool about 30 minutes.
6. Strain contents of pot through a colander into another large pot or bowl. Discard chicken bones and vegetables.
7. Cover strained stock and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
8. Skim fat from the top and either use or store in freezer.
9. You can freeze this stock for up to 6 months.

NOTE: I don’t add salt to my stock because I’m never sure how I will use it. You can add it if you like, but I prefer to add salt to the finished dish.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is my basic chicken soup recipe, but by all means feel free to add, substitute or eliminate as you wish. I tend to like my soup very thick, so you can add more stock, water, wine or whatever makes you happy so you have the right consistency for you.

• 12 cups of homemade chicken stock
• 2-3 cups of cooked chicken (usually whatever I have left over), cut into 1″ pieces
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 4 organic carrots, peeled and cut into roughly 1/4″ slices
• 2 cups frozen or fresh organic peas
• 1 organic onion, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 organic celery stalks, cleaned and sliced thin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 16 oz. pasta (fettuccine noodles broken into pieces, orzo or any pasta you like)

1. In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil at medium/high heat.
2. Add vegetables and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes or so.
3. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add chicken and chicken stock, stir well and simmer.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer on medium/low heat for about 1 hour.
7. Add pasta and cook another 10-15 minutes until pasta is done.
8. Serve with a salad or with a good bread.
9. Soup can be frozen for up to 6 months.

Happy chicken noodle soup day!