Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup ~ Whenever one of us gets sick, I like to make homemade chicken soup. I always like to save/freeze any chicken bones we have leftover after a meal ~ they're perfect for making soup with.  I like to add the bones to any saved chicken broth I might have in the freezer, simmer them together & that way I get a really rich & thick stock/broth.  I then remove the bones, skim off the fat & I then add some cut-up chicken meat & whatever veg is hanging around. Sometimes I'll add noodles, sometimes rice & sometimes just the veggies.  If I'm out of homemade broth I use Better Than Bouillon, it's my go-to for great soup flavor.  Chicken Soup ~  It always seems to help.  :)

This was the end of the first week back to school for J.  Summer is now 'over' & we are getting back into the school routine.  Everything went fine the first week ~ no missed school buses, no forgetting to set the alarm clock, no forgotten lunches ~ everything went according to plan.  But... this morning J woke up with a scratchy throat & the sniffles.  Darn!  Beginnings of a cold?  Sinus attack?  Time will tell... but, every year he gets a cold at the beginning of school, so I'm leaning towards cold, but the pollen count is high, too ~ so I'm just waiting to see.

Since it could go either way, I decided to make some Homemade Chicken Soup.  Now, I don't have a go-to 'recipe' for chicken soup ~ other than having chicken in it, it varies by what we have on hand in the fridge & who it is for.  If it's for J or Roy, it will be more simple ~ but if it's for me, it will be spicier & have more of a Mexican flair.  (did I ever mention I love Mexican food?! :)   Sometimes the chicken soup has rice instead of noodles; sometimes just carrots, celery & onions; sometimes additional veggies.  Anything in the veggie bin is fair game.  It's a comforting soup ~ no matter how I make it & we all enjoy it as we try to keep the sick bug away.

Here is a good, easy, basic homemade chicken soup recipe from Martha Stewart to get you started.  It's easy to add your own personal spin ~ be it with noodles, rice or just plain.  I usually lean towards noodles, since they're so fun to slurp ~ & J agrees.  :)