Kid Friendly Chicken Noodle Soup

Since my daughter has had a cold I thought she needed a pot of homemade chicken soup. I got busy in the kitchen today and tonight we had hot, delicious and kid friendly soup. My kids love chicken noodle soup but they don't want to see any onion, celery or pepper floating in it. They can handle carrots but that's about it. I really don't like soup out of a can. It's okay depending on which brand you buy, but there's nothing like homemade. It tastes so much better and is a lot healthier. Yes, I make my own chicken stock. This soup has nothing in it from a can. It is very time consuming and tiring but is so worth it. I make a huge pot of it because everybody has at least 2 bowls and I want it to last for a few days.

I finally purchased a 10 quart stock pot a few years ago because I was overflowing my 8 quart pot trying to make enough to last. You can always half this recipe if you want to make a smaller portion. I use 2 whole chickens or 2 packages of cut chicken pieces, either one works. The chicken pieces make it easier to pull the meat off the bones. The stock is chock full of onions, celery and carrots which makes it very rich and flavorful. You never need to add a can of store bought broth for extra flavor because it's not necessary. To make it kid friendly and healthy, I puree the vegetables that cooked in the stock and add it back to the stock. This adds a little nutrition and you can't really tell it's in there. Or you can skip this step and just have pure stock, meat, egg noodles and diced carrots. You can even skip the carrots because the stock is a combination chicken and veggie stock all by itself. Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 whole chickens or 2 packages of chicken pieces
4 stalks celery, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and quartered 
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
2 Tbsp. peppercorns
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 cups diced carrots
1 bag of egg noodles (size depends on how much soup you make and how many noodles you prefer)

Place ingredients in stock pot and cover with enough water to avoid boiling over (about 2 inches from the top). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove cooked chicken to a colander. Bring stock and vegetables back to a boil and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, while chicken cools.

Once chicken is cool enough to handle, tear it off the bone, shred it into bite size pieces and set aside. Drain stock into a colander set over a large bowl. You may need to do this twice using 2 bowls, depending on how much you make. Allow vegetables to cool in colander if you want to puree them, if not then discard them along with the peppercorns (do not puree peppercorns). To puree vegetables, place them in a food processor along with some of the broth and puree until liquid. Add back to the rest of the stock.

Add stock back to pot along with chicken and bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles and diced carrots. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until noodles are done and carrots are tender.