Not Your Average Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a family recipe passed down through the years and it finally rests upon me to make it yearly at Thanksgiving as a family tradition. My great grandma never added onions as I do and never seasoned until it hit the bowl, but I add my salt and pepper to taste while cooking. It taste even better the second day.

In a large pan, add the chicken. Add the broth and any additional water to cover the chicken. Boil until chicken is falling apart. Set aside in the fridge until chilled, scrape off excess fat on the broth once cooled. Reserve broth after removing chicken from the pan.

While boiling the chicken, in a second medium-sized pan, fill with water, chopped celery, carrots, onion, and chopped celery leaves. These can all be roughly chopped, as you will puree this mixture later. Boil until softened.

In a blender, blend the vegetable mixutre with its broth on the puree setting. Set aside.

Debone the cooled chicken (reserve broth), discarding all bones and skin.

Take your cooled, boned chicken and broth. In small batches, puree small amounts of chicken and broth together in the blender. Set aside in a large bowl.

(If you like your chicken chunky in your soup, adjust blending time and broth accordingly to the consistency you wish.)

Now add both chicken and vegetable purees together in a large soup pan or Dutch oven. The soup will need to be seasoned with salt and pepper to your taste. This is your completed chicken soup base and good enough to eat by itself but much better with noodles added.

Noodles:
I make my own homemade noodles or buy the refigerated fettucini noodles. I cook them straight in the soup. I bring the soup pot to a boil then add the noodles. This thickens the soup significantly. If you think the soup is too thick, you can add more water or chicken broth. Since this soup is more of a puree, you need to watch and stir your pot constantly as the bottom can scorch easily while boiling the noodles.

To reheat the soup, you can microwave it or set it on low on the stove. It thickens with time and you may need to add extra broth or water when reheating. Our family loves to serve it with biscuits and jelly if we are eating it as a meal, or with our favorite sandwich.