Okay – let’s get the party started. Throw the chicken pieces in the pan.
Cover the chicken with about 4 quarts of water…
Then bring the pot to a boil.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Allow the chicken to simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pot. Keep the soup simmering over low heat.
Using a couple of forks…
Use a fork to pull the meat away from the bone. Don’t worry if there is a little pink or red residue, as it will be returned to the pan later.
Remove the chicken from the bones and break it into small pieces, but remove as much meat from the bones as possible. Cover the meat and set aside or refrigerate to harden.
Once the meat is removed, place the bones back into the broth.
Simmer the bones on low heat for 45 minutes (you can remove the meat more thoroughly than I did. Sorry. I’m lazy).
While the bones are cooking, dice the carrots.
Cutting off the tip…
Then cut it in half lengthwise.
All lined up and cut down…
Then cut each half into three long pieces.
Then cut the carrots horizontally into slices and dice.
Easy! Dice The only way to keep the dice fairly large is to
a) I like cooked carrots.
and
b) make it easier for people who don’t like cooked carrots to take them out and eat them.
Dice the celery as well. And include the inner stalks along with the pretty leaves. This is my favorite part.
You can include a couple of onions, but I like to go against the Mirepoix rules and just use carrots and celery.
That’s what I call rebellious.
Remove the bones from the broth with a spoon and check for any small bones that have fallen out. Then add the carrots and celery to the pot.
Next, add the salt with your freaky pink alien hands.
Next, add the turmeric. It adds flavor and color, color, color.
I really like turmeric these days. Try it sometime. It is magical.
Now add the white pepper. I put in quite a bit more and I love it, it gives a slightly peppery and spicy flavor. But don’t add too much at first, you can add more if you like. Also, if you want a little more chicken flavor, you can add a little thyme powder and chicken stock.
But this shouldn’t really be necessary.
Finally, add the parsley flakes.
Give it a stir and cook for another 10 minutes to allow the flavors to mix a little.
Now prepare a package of egg noodles. Increase the heat to compensate for the coldness of the noodles.
Dump it in here as it is.
Stirring to separate the noodles.
Now, throw in the chicken!
It’s getting worse, folks.
Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
Yum.
Now, 10 minutes later, this is a delicious, wonderful, tasty, hearty chicken noodle soup. Taste it, check the seasoning, and if you like it, serve it in that state.
But that’s not what we’re aiming for here.
My goal is to make a nice, thick chicken and noodles. Add a small amount of flour and water…
Mix until smooth…
And pour it into the pan…
Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the soup has thickened. Feel free to add a little more flour/water if necessary, and if it becomes too thick, add a little more water.
Hmmm …… You know you’re in for a good meal when the sides of the pot look like this.
And when the pan looks like this.
Oh, dear. This is comfort food. And this is our home.
It will look like this in the future…
When my daughter sticks her spoon in the pan while I’m trying to take a picture.
Taking out the “paws”.
Then the claws scratch and squeeze until this delinquent 12 year old runs away crying.
Look at this cute mother and daughter with matching alien hands!
See. It’s a photography thing. Exposure and all that sort of thing. Like the pot turning black, my hands are always pink and weirdly white.
One day I’ll feature it in the Pioneer Woman photo gallery. Because it’s too painful to talk about here.
So anyway, I invited her back for a bite to eat.
But I charged her $5 anyway.
I took a bite right out of it.
And in that moment, everything in the world became right.
Enjoy it, that’s what life is all about.
