Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup from scratch is comforting and very healthy.  For instance, not many people think about it, but bone broth (part of what you'll get when we boil the chicken) is probably the most healthy part about this!
For example:

• Bone broth contains valuable minerals in a form your body can easily absorb and use, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur chondroitin, glucosamine, and a variety of trace minerals
• The gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion
• Bone broth also inhibits infection caused by cold and flu viruses, for example, and fights inflammation, courtesy of anti-inflammatory amino acids such as arginine
• Making your own bone broth is very cost effective, as you can make use of left over carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away. And making your own broth is quite easy
• For the full story and information on bone broth, go here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx

Now on to the recipe.

You'll need:

Large stock pot

One whole chicken

Celery  (4-5 large stalks)

Carrots  (5-6 large)

Onion (one large)

Your choice of noodles (This is something I do not make homemade and no one in the family agrees on thick or thin)

Celery seed  (1 tbsp)

Sea salt (really it just tastes better)

Fresh ground pepper

And I prefer using water from my purifier.

First you will take the giblets packet out of the inside of the chicken. Some won't have one, but just in case, you don't want to boil that paper with your chicken.  Then place the chicken in the stock pot, cover with water and boil.  This water becomes your broth, that is why I use filtered water.  You don't need to add anything else at this time.  You can actually boil the giblets with the chicken if you want, but they are done cooking after about 15 minutes and you will need to take them out.  

When the water starts a good rolling boil, turn the heat down to a high simmer.  You still want it to boil, but not so hard.  A 4 to 5 pound chicken will take about an hour to boil.  The meat will start to fall off the bones. and you will be able to see that it is done.  At this point turn the heat off and move the pot to a cool part of the stove.  You need it to cool off quite a while before you can handle the chicken.  You can sort of speed the process ONLY IF you have heavy duty tongs to get the hot chicken out of the pan.  The chicken is tricky at this point because it will fall apart.  You don't want to get burned.  I do put my chicken on a big serving platter to cool quicker.

When the chicken is cool and you can handle it, start to pick it apart.  I find it's just easier with your hands, but you can use a fork and scrape it off in big chunks.  Get all of the meat that you can, but obviously you are discarding the skin and bones. Cut large pieces into bite sized pieces.  Your chicken is done!

Double check the pot for skin that may have fallen off and fish that out.

While that chicken is cooling you can cut up your celery, onion and carrots.  Leave some of the leaves of the celery, it's a flavor you will miss if you don't.

One of the reasons that I take my chicken out to cool, is so that I can start boiling the vegetables right away. I go ahead and put the pot back on the heat and add the vegetables to cook and maybe a little water if it boiled down too much.  Don't worry the broth is very concentrated and adding water will not be a problem.

With my veggies boiling, I just add the chicken back in and the salt (to your preference) and celery seed. When the vegetables are tender, then I add the noodles.  Cook until the noodles are done.

Add pepper fresh to the bowl of soup that you are eating.  It can get bitter when cooked too long.

Really that's it!  I don't do exact measurements because it depends on your preferences of a lot of veggies or a little.  Salty or just a little salt. Homemade noodles, with a lot of flour on them still, will thicken your broth slightly and that is good too.   It really will turn out great no matter how much you throw in and it will be so healthy and good!

Enjoy!