Chicken Corn Noodle Soup For All You Sickies Out There

This girl got off the school bus dragging her backpack, her face a mile long, complaining she was starting a cold.  The tone of her voice shouted, “Pity me!  My nose is stuffed up and my throat is sore, and you’re going to hear about it nonstop for the next 5 days, so get used to it!”  Not that she has Drama Queen tendencies or anything.
Lucky for her, I had Chicken Corn Noodle Soup bubbling away on the stove.
 
Whenever we have a rotisserie chicken for supper, I save the carcass for the next day to make homemade chicken stock.  Even if I don’t make the actual Chicken Corn Noodle Soup, I still make the stock and freeze it for any soup I may make in the future.

So…put the chicken carcass  in a very large soup pot and cover it with water, then add a handful of salt, some peppercorns, some allspice, bay leaves, a whole, large onion (no need to chop, just take off the onion skin), and some celery.  Boil those odds and ends for a long time, until the chicken is ready to fall off the bone.

I am including some pictures, but they’re awful.  Maybe it’s the nighttime lighting, maybe it’s the fact that everything is kind of beige…but trust me, it’ll all taste better than it looks here.

Ready to boil:

When I’ve cooked this all for awhile, I remove the carcass with a pair of tongs to a nearby plate and let it cool, then I strain the contents of the pot.  You basically want to remove all the stuff in there and have just the delicious, steamy chicken stock remain. 

Get the stock boiling again then add your noodles.  My mother-in-law, from whom this recipe came, made her own homemade noodles that were the ultimate in comfort food, but I just use Kluski Noodles, they’re thick and remind you of homemade.  I’ll include her homemade noodle recipe down below for all you Marthas out there.

Soon the chicken carcass will have cooled, and it’s time to play Nigella Lawson and really get in there with your fingers, searching out any and all bits of meat-- you will be surprised at how much is still in there!  Throw any you find in with the boiling noodles, then add a can of drained corn.  When the noodles are done cooking, it’s time to eat!

I usually make a salad and some crescent rolls to go with it.  This is a meal everyone in the family enjoys, believe it or not (those are rare around here).  And my sickie girl smiled at dinner and told me that it made her throat feel a teeny-tiny bit better.

Chicken Corn Noodle Soup

Stock:
1 mostly eaten rotisserie chicken
Handful of salt
12 peppercorns
12 allspice
2 bay leaves
3 –4 celery stalks
1 large whole onion

Add to Stock:
chicken removed from carcass
1 bag Kluski or homemade noodles
1 can corn

Put the chicken carcass  in a very large soup pot and cover it with water, then add salt, peppercorns, allspice, bay leaves,  onion (no need to chop, just take off the onion skin), and some celery.  Boil those odds and ends for a long time, until the chicken is ready to fall off the bone.  Remove chicken to plate to cool then strain those odds and ends from the stock and discard.  Bring stock back to a boil and add dry noodles and a can of corn.


Noodles:
6 c. flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. salt
3 t. baking powder
6 T. Crisco
1 c. (more or less) water
Mix ingredients together and roll dough to desired thickness and cut into squares.  Add squares to boiling stock.

I am linking this post to Foodie Fridays.
There's a nice little icon to go with this, but I haven't been able to figure out how to get it on here!