Very Basic Chicken Soup

A young friend asked me how to make chicken soup so I wrote down the very basic recipe for her. I thought I'd share it here, too. Chicken soup is always welcoming and you don't have to rely on the canned soup with the soggy noodles.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

10 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 cans of chicken broth

2 cups water

2 16 ounce bags of frozen mixed vegetables

Salt and pepper

16 ounces elbow noodles

In a frying pan or pot with a cover, put in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, heat, and brown the chicken on both sides. Add the onion and garlic and cook some more until

they are slightly browned and tender. Pour in the broth, water, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for an hour. Strain the broth into another pot to get rid of the solids.

Cool the chicken slightly and pull off the meat and throw away the bones. Put the frozen vegetable in with the meat and chicken in the broth. Taste to see if you need

more salt or pepper. Simmer until it is hot.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles until just tender. Drain. Put a spoonful of noodles in each bowl and top with soup. Serve!

Ideas . . .

You can get fancy and finely chop some parsley or chives and sprinkle on each serving.

Sometimes, I sear a couple of boneless chicken breasts, dice them, and add them to the pot.

No, frozen vegetables. Nothing wrong with chopping up some fresh carrots and celery for your soup.

one-four of barley added and simmered until tender stretches out your meal and adds some extra fiber.

Dried onions are a reasonable substitute if you don't have a fresh one on hand.

My children like angel hair pasta in their soup. The choice of shape is open to choice!

A dash of poultry seasoning adds some extra flavor.

Potatoes instead of noodles/pasta is always a nice change.