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When my four-year-old step daughter comes over every other weekend, she eats food that her father grew up eating – rice, beans and chicken. I always try to teach her about American food like pancakes and bacon for breakfast, popcorn during movies and this weekend, I taught her what traditional chicken noodle soup tasted like.

I sought out to make chicken noodle the way I knew it growing up: low and slow simmered stock, chicken, mirepoux and noodles. Enjoy the recipe below.

Creamy Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

For the Stock:

  • 1/2 large white onion, 3 large celery stalks, 2 large carrots (chop them in BIG chunks)
  • 1 pack of fresh herbs (Poultry blend – Rosemary, Sage and Thyme)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 smashed garlic cloves
  • 7 chicken thighs
  • 3 cans of low-sodium, 99% fat-free chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons of salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 cans full of water

Instructions:

  1. Put this all in a large stock pot on medium heat (it will take a while to get hot). Leave it alone. After about an hour, turn the heat up to medium-high and leave it alone again.
  2. Remove the chicken thighs and place them on a plastic cutting board. Let them cool a few minutes and then pull the meat off the bone using a fork. Set aside.
  3. Throw the bones back in the stock pot. Then, bring up to a constant boil for 15 minutes.
  4. Taste the stock. If you like how concentrated it is, drain it into another pot. (You can toss the limp onions, carrots and celery, toss the herbs, toss the garlic.) Throw the pulled chicken in with the stock.

For the Soup:

  • 1 heaping cup each of diced onion, celery and carrot (aka mirepoix)
  • homemade chicken stock
  • the meat of 7 chicken thighs
  • 1 package of frozen “Reames” Homestyle egg noodles (16 oz.)
  • 4 cloves of fresh garlic
  • I can’t believe it’s not butter – 2 tablespoons
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • palm full of flour
  1. Put the empty original stock pot (which you’ve rinsed) back on the stove on medium heat. Add ICBINB to pot. Add mirepoix. Saute.
  2. In a small cup, mix a palm-full of flour with 1 cup of heavy cream. Pour into pot and cook flour out for 2 minutes.
  3. Pour in stock with chicken. Stir. Add salt and pepper here to taste.
  4. Add noodles.
  5. Once the noodles float and you see the broth start to thicken, let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes to really get the intensity. I let the broth reduce about an inch down the pot. Freeze left overs or take to work for lunch for a few days. Enjoy!

Weight Watchers PointsPlus = 6