Friday’s Lunch: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I have to be honest: lunches are a challenge now that I’m at home full-time.  There aren’t enough leftovers for everyone, sandwiches get old, and breakfast for lunch isn’t ideal.

Last Friday Matt was off work and Drew was home sick so I had the whole family to feed lunch.  This is where I decided to get creative. 🙂

Since Matt has had a cold for a week and Drew was getting over the flu, I thought I’d try chicken noodle soup.  I didn’t tell Matt until after he ate it that I had never made non-Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.  And I didn’t use a recipe. I just browsed several online and made up my own.

One reason I decided to do this was that we had 4 leftover uncooked chicken thighs from last night, when I made Cilantro Lime Chicken Casserole (delicous by the way!).  I also had a half bag of uncooked egg noodles from who knows when, and I happened to have everything else in the refrigerator.  Although I didn’t measure anything out, here was my basic recipe:

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 chicken thighs, skin on
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 quarts chicken broth (I used my homemade chicken broth)
2-3 Tbsp. sea salt (don’t use this much if you’re using store-bought broth)
2-3 Tbsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
8 ounces egg noodles

Heat olive oil in stock pot.  Add chicken and cook a few minutes. Then add vegetables.  Cook 5-6 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Add spices and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer 1 1/2 – 2 hours.  Using a slotted spoon, take the thighs out, remove the skin, and shred the chicken off the bone.  Meanwhile, add the egg noodles and cook 4-5 minutes until tender.  Put the chicken meat back in the pot and simmer until ready to eat.

We had enough for all four of us, plus four extra servings.  I’ll be refrigerating two servings for leftovers and freezing the other two for a rainy day.