Mom's Homemade Chicken Soup mmm...

     Even though spring is close by we are still having cold weather and even snow the last couple of days.   It is still a very good time for some comforting homemade soup! I have many memories of my mom making this to take to sick neighbors and family.  Every time we get a cold you can bet a pan of this will show up at our house from mom!  This really does have magical healing qualities and is so delicious!  

     This is one of the few recipes that I usually just make--no recipe needed.  I know it so well that I can just add ingredients until it looks "right".  But if you are like me in almost every other instance I have to have a recipe with real amounts or something always seems a little bit off.   So I  measured as I cooked and wrote it all down for you! 

Mom's Chicken Soup

For a 6 quart pot (8-10 servings)

Place in a pot and bring to a boil:
5 lbs. bone in chicken (I use 5 legs and 5 thighs, the dark meat has more flavor but any pieces will be fine).
2 small or 1 med. onion chopped into 1" pieces.
2 tsps. salt
Water to cover chicken 

Boil slowly for 45 min. to 1 hour.  Remove chicken to a plate to cool.  
Meanwhile, peel and slice
 3 cups carrots
 1celery rib. 

 Then peel and dice 
2 med. to large potatoes and add to boiling broth.

By this time meat should be cool enough to handle.  Remove and discard skin and bones. Pull meat apart and break into 1" - 2" pieces.  This made about 5 cups of meat.

Put meat back into pot of broth.  Let vegetables boil for about 10 minutes (the carrots add a beautiful color and flavor to this soup so don't skimp on them!) then add 1 to 2 cups large wide egg noodles and let boil for 10 minutes more.  (Mom makes her own noodles and they are fabulous but I have yet to learn the art so I buy mine!)  
Add more hot water to replace the amount that has boiled off and then a little more to make the soup the consistency (thick or thin) that you want it.  I added in all about 7 cups more water. 

Bring again to a boil.  Now you need to slowly add more salt to taste.  I added about 1 and 1/2 more tablespoons.  Add a teaspoon at a time and taste.  

To thicken soup:

In a small bowl or cup add:
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup flour (or cornstarch)
Mix with a wisk until blended.  

To avoid getting lumps in your soup, remove some of the hot juice (1/4 cup) and mix with the water and flour mixture.  Mix and then add another 1/4 cup of hot liquid. Mix and then pour all of this into the soup and stir until combined.

.  Boil for 1 minute.

The soup is finished now but you can also add dumplings if you would like.  This is my recipe that I have used for years from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  This is sooooo much better than the box mix kind and really quite fast to make.  Pleeeease use it ok?  (I feel so much better now).

Dumplings:  

3 Tblspns. shortening  

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

3/4 teas. salt

3/4 cup milk

 

Cut shortening into flour, baking powder, and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in milk.  Drop dough by spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew (do not drop directly into liquid).  Cook uncovered 10 minutes Cover and cook 10 minutes longer.

Is that beautiful or what??

.

As my mom always says: "This'll cure what ails ya!"  (just kidding mom,  I'm in trouble now...)

This recipe also appears on Mandy's Recipe Box   ,The Recipe Critic
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