by Kara Kimbrough
Much to my dismay, the temperature didn’t decrease as much as I’d hoped last weekend. Despite this setback, I moved ahead with my plans to make a big pot of soup. In my mind, nothing is more comforting this time of year than a steaming bowl of homemade soup with a side of hot cornbread or slice of crusty French bread.
I normally use Ina Garten's, aka the Barefoot Contessa, chicken noodle soup recipe, but a chance discovery of an Italian cooking site on a social media page changed my plans. Those Italian cooks know their way around a kitchen so following their advice is never a bad thing. This particular cook shared a recipe and appetizing-looking photo of her homemade noodle soup. She added the disclaimer to use frozen egg noodles instead of dry ones.
I was inspired to try the recipe with the frozen egg noodles, but was disappointed to find they weren’t carried in my local supermarkets. Not to be outdone, I substituted frozen dumplings. To transform them into egg noodle-size, I used kitchen shears to cut them in thirds.
The final product was a little doughier than I’d anticipated, but they worked in a pinch. I plan to stock up on the required product the next time I’m near a Jackson supermarket.
Homemade Chicken Noodle (Or Dumpling!) Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 quarts chicken stock or prepared chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chicken base
- 12 ounces frozen egg noodles (I substituted frozen dumplings and trimmed them to size)
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- Olive oil for brushing
- 1 bag frozen English peas and carrots
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, plus one cup of water
Brush chicken with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake on a baking pan in a 350-degree F oven for 30 minutes, turning once.
While chicken is baking, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion, celery and garlic in butter until become translucent- about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Add the onion powder, salt and pepper, and stir to coat the vegetables with the seasonings.
Remove chicken from oven and add it to a large stockpot along with chicken stock or broth; bring to a simmer. Once it is simmering whisk in the chicken base. Add the frozen egg noodles, frozen peas and carrots and soup, with an added cup of water. Cook over medium- low heat for 20 to 25 minutes until the noodles are cooked through.
Turn the heat to low and remove chicken with tongs. Shred into pieces and add back to soup mixture. Stir and cook for an additional five minutes.