The Weather Outside is Frightful

But it's kind of beautiful and the perfect day for my last day of my job, and for kicking off an unemployed holiday season. I'm hoping I can keep my brain from worrying too much and just think of all of the extra time I'll have with family and friends.

Since it was cold and snowy I made soup. 

I really love Smitten Kitchen's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe, so I more or less just followed that. She's right, the browning of the chicken in the pan really gives the soup another layer of flavor, and once you've tried it, you won't go back to the old just boil it method. The only change I started making was to cook noodles separately. Unfortunately, you do lose a little by not having those noodles soak up the broth directly, but we never finish the whole batch at once, and then our noodles get soggy sitting in it. So now I boil them separately until they're almost done before draining them, then adding the broth and veggies and finishing the cooking the rest of the way.

Ingredients:
Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-pound chicken, in parts or 3 pounds chicken pieces of your choice
8 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, diced (1/3-inch)
1 medium parsnip, diced (1/3-inch) (optional)
1 large celery stalk, diced (1/3-inch)
3 ounces dried egg noodles, I prefer wide ones
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley
 

Prepare broth: In a large (5-quart) heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes, until beginning to take on color at edges. Add the chicken pieces (if too crowded, can do this in two batches), making little wells in the onions so that the parts can touch the bottom of the pan directly. Cook chicken parts until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add water, bay leaf, table salt and some freshly ground black pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim any the surface of the pot. Simmer pot gently, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken parts to a plate to cool a bit before handling. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl (ideally, with a spout) and pour soup through it.

To finish and serve: Add diced vegetables and simmer them until they’re firm-tender, about 5 minutes. Add dried noodles and cook them according to package directions, usually 6 to 9 minutes. While these simmer, remove the skin and chop the flesh from a couple pieces of chicken, only what you’re going to use. You won’t need all of it in the soup. Save the surplus for another meal later in the week...tacos, salad, etc...

Once noodles have cooked, add chicken pieces just until they have rewarmed through (30 seconds) and ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with dill or parsley, dig in and let it fix everything that went wrong with your day.

MMMM...