Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm looking after my 11 year old niece for the summer so that she doesn’t have to go to summer camp with her brother, it’s a win-win situation. It works out great for me because it gives my daughter someone to play with and she’s also a big help with watching my son while I get some things done around the house.

I asked them for some ideas of healthy foods they’d like to have for lunches and they said sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to make a healthy, kid-friendly, sodium-free soup that even my 9 month old son could eat.

As promised yesterday, here's the recipe...

Homemade Chicken Stock (Sodium Free)

• 1 chicken carcass with some meat remaining (I used a grocery store roasted chicken)
• 2 onions, quartered, skin left on
• 1 leek, chopped
• 3 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery ribs, including leaves, cut in large chunks
• 6 peppercorns 2 garlic cloves, halved, skin left on
• 1 Tbs parsley

1. Put all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with plenty of water.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered (by putting the lid on crooked) for 4 hours. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
3. Remove the bones and strain the stock. Put the stock in the fridge and chill over night.
4. The next day, remove any fat that has gathered on top.
   
5. At this point the stock can be frozen or used to make soup. (I froze some of the stock in ice cube trays and made soup from the rest).

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

• Chicken stock (I didn’t measure, I just had a large pot about ¾ full)
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1.5 cups diced cooked chicken (from the roasted chicken the day before)
• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1.5 cups small egg noodles
• Chicken Oxo, to taste (optional, and I wouldn’t add this to the baby’s portion)

1. Bring the stock to a boil and add the carrots. Turn heat down but keep it simmering rapidly.
2. After about 10 minutes add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 more minutes.

My daughter and niece didn’t really like the soup at first. I admit that it was a little bland since it didn’t have any salt in it. So, at that point I took out some of the soup for my 9 month old and put that aside, then added some chicken oxo to the remaining soup. After that, the kids loved it and my daughter even told me it was the best soup she’s ever had!