The key to making killer chicken noodle soup is homemade stock. And in case you aren’t aware – it takes a little time to make 
homemade stock, but it is super easy! There are a few different methods for making chicken stock from scratch. You can use a whole raw chicken, bones from a chicken that has already been eaten, or raw chicken parts that people don’t normally eat (like the back, feet, etc.). I’ve tried just about all of these methods and my favorite stock is hands down made with the bones from the leftover “The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot” recipe. It gives you the darkest, richest stock full of so much flavor that I could just eat/drink it plain.
So since you need chicken for this recipe anyway, I highly recommend that you make the whole chicken in the crock pot recipe and eat about half the chicken with one meal the first night. Then make the stock with the leftover bones overnight, and you will be all set to make the soup the next day/evening with your freshly made stock and leftover chicken meat. If you can’t eat all the soup at once then just freeze the leftovers. Trust me – you do not need to be an expert chef to make this plan work, and I guarantee you will NOT be disappointed with the outcome! And hopefully it will convince you to never buy chicken noodle soup out of a can again. :)
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 9 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups whole-grain noodles
- 10 carrots peeled and chopped
- 5 stalks celery washed and chopped
- 2 cups chicken cooked, shredded or diced
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring chicken stock to a boil.
- Add dry whole-grain noodles to stock and set the timer according to pasta package directions.
- When there are 5 minutes left in the cooking time throw in the chopped carrots and celery. Keep the stock boiling.
- When there is about 1 minute left add the cooked chicken to the stock so it can heat up thoroughly.
- Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve warm and store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
Used 1 – 16oz frozen broccoli Normandy left overs from dinner, 12 C broth, 5 C whole wheat noodles 3 C left over chicken. All 12 of the kids ate lunch today ! Yay !
This is my favorite chicken, chicken stock and chicken soup recipe. I’ve made it at least 15 times over the past 4 years and my kids love it. I add 2 cloves of garlic and a pinch of cumin to the stock. Awesome. Thank for sharing!
Homemade stock is definitely the key. I had given up a few years ago on making my own chicken noodle soup, but will not ever buy a can again after this recipe! I do saute the carrots and celery beforehand as we like a softer texture. I have added water at the end, too, if more liquid is needed. Thanks for another great recipe!
I have made this soup twice and we use small mason jars to freeze portions for lunch boxes (a great tip, btw, so thanks!). However, once the soup cools down, the pasta absorbs most of the chicken stock and there is very little liquid compared to the amount of pasta. I even tried cooking the pasta and veggies in a separate pot of water but no luck. Any ideas? Thanks!
Hi Monique, I often just boil my noodles fresh because my kids like it better that way. You can boil a small amount of noodles the night before and add them as you are heating the soup up in the morning.
Another great recipe to add to the collection. Definitely the best way to use the chicken leftovers from the crock pot chicken recipe. Super easy and delicious made per the recipe.
Thanks for your answers. I ended up making chicken rice soup with the stock. Put everything in the slow cooker in the am and it was ready for my family to eat at lunch. They were recovering from the stomach virus and it was easy for them to eat. It turned out delicious!
I made the chicken in a crock pot yesterday and the stock overnight. I was surprised that it was darker than what I am used to. Is that normal?
Hi Eileen, just wanted to say mine turned out dark too…maybe it is the spice mixture? It tastes great…but definitely way darker than when I use the bones and skin from a deli rotisserie chicken.
Hi there. A darker, richer broth is perfectly normal for this recipe. :)
I assume that the turkey stock that I made after our Christmas dinner will work as well? Also, on a different matter what would I use the turkey drippings for that I saved as well? We love soup!
Yes, turkey stock should work, too. You can use drippings for gravy or to add flavor to a stuffing or veggies, like green beans.
I just made this after making the chicken in a crock pot and homemade chicken stock recipes. So delicious! I will say that I did modify the recipe a tad, as I like my veggies tender is soup. I sauteed them, plus some parsnips and onion, in olive oil. Once they were tender, then I added the broth and some fresh chopped parsley. When it came to a boil, I added the noodles and chicken and simmered until the noodles were done. I have no doubt the recipe as is would have been wonderful, but I was worried that the carrots and celery would be too crispy for soup. :)
Cn you somehow convert this to crockpot? I’d like to make it while at work so I have an awesome, WARM dinner to come home to in this crazy polar vertex. :-)
Hi Andrea. This might help as a reference point: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30868-slow-cooker-chicken-soup.
I’m printing this for the 4th or 5th or 10th time because I keep misplacing the recipe after I use it. You’d think I’d have it memorized by now! Yum!!
Hi Courtney. I’m glad you like this recipe! I think it’s a great endorsement of the recipe itself! I can’t figure out WHY you’d waste ink and paper printing the recipe when you could just save the recipe to your computer!? Good luck.
Vincent Reagan
BTW I’m the same guy who wants to buy an E-book Version of the cookbook!?!?
:-)
You’re right! Our computer isn’t in our kitchen and the iPad met an untimely demise. But, never fear, I now have a new Fire and the recipe is Pinned, so I’m good to go.
The Chicken Noodle Soup is delicious. I don’t know what happened! If I made it again, I will cut the vegetables in half. Also cut the noodles in half. Thanks for your reply.
Hi There, I would like to make this soup with brown rice instead of noodles. Any suggestions on how to best make that work?
Should I cook the rice ahead of time and add it to the soup at the end or should I add the rice uncooked and let it simmer for 45 minutes? If I do the latter I am assuming I will need extra broth but not sure.
Thanks for your help! :)
Hi Jeannette. Yep, you can do it either way. You would need to add more broth or water because the rice will absorb the liquid. :)
I have often made this with pre-cooked brown rice.
Hi there. The soup does have plenty of noodle and veggies but should have still been soupy. I am not sure what might have gone wrong. Did it taste great? :)
Please excuse my typos. I was in a hurry. Sorry! Marlys
I made the Chicken Noodle Soup yesterday. Follow the recipe. I put in the Chivken Broth like the recipe plus noodles, carrots and celery.. I had way to many vegetables and noodles. I added six to eight mare cups of homemade brith and it still has to much bulk. What did I do wrong? It seems that the proportions are not correct!
I had the same problem! I had 5 extra cups of the stock but gave it to my friend. Luckily I had several quarts in my freezer, so I added a quart. Still simmering. I feel like maybe 3 cups of the elbows was too much?
Hi there. If you look at Lisa’s soup, it is pretty heavy on the noodles. You can always just cut back on the amount. The same is true for the veggies. I tend to add even more veggies and use quinoa rather than noodles. It is very versatile.:)
I just made this soup using your stock recipe and it smells amazing while cooking and tastes amazing!
I hope to never buy canned or packaged soup again for my family!
Thank you!!!!
Those pretty noodles though!! :) Oh the little things that make me smile!
We made this tonight by request of my fiancé and it is AMAZING!! We used the homemade stock from the crockpot whole chicken that we made last week. The carrots we used were just picked from our garden about 30 minutes ago so that really put this recipe over the top! There’s not one recipe we’ve tried from this website that is anything less than spectacular :)
Having the whole chicken tonight and I can’t wait to try it. Up next the homemade stock followed by the soup. I was wondering though – would rice noodles (spiral) hold up ok in the soup (for my gluten sensitive daughter)? Thanks :)
Hi Ashley. I think rice noodles should work fine. I’ve made it with quinoa noodles quite successfully. ~Amy
I have made this recipe several times starting with chicken in the crockpot which leads to chicken stock in the crockpot which leads to the soup and it is just a fantastic dinner all the way around! A real lifesaver for moms everywhere. Or families in general!
You free this with the noodles and the texture of the noodles is ok when thawed?
Hi Karrie. Yep, its fine. I’m sure they are a little softer but have not noticed. ~Amy
Good soup but very bland….
Also, this recipe calls for way too much pasta. I think next time I will only add 1.5 – 2 cups instead of 3.
Hi! I love this site so much but after making it quite a few times I am wondering if everyone else’s stock ends up as fatty (greasy looking) as mine? The taste is amazing but I am just wondering if I am missing a step (like maybe skimming it at some point) or if this is just typical of this recipe. Either way, I will continue to make because it is a real crowd pleaser in my house :) Thank you so much for all you do!
Hi there. The fat adds a lot of good flavor but you can always skim some off if you choose. ~Amy
My family has been following your recipes and meal plans since the end of December. We are hooked! I made this soup yesterday and it was a hit. My husband hates chicken noodle soup, but he loved this recipe so much he had two servings. I made some slight modifications- I didn’t have a whole chicken so I boiled organic chicken breasts in water with minced garlic. I used the water as the stock base and supplemented it with organic chicken stock. I also included chopped onion when I added the vegetables. The recipe was a success!
I don’t know if you get a lot of teenagers on this wonderful website or not, but I’m seventeen years old, and definitely going to make this for my boyfriend. I absolutely love this recipe and made it for the first time a few weeks ago. Please keep up the amazing work.
Slainte. :)
Hi there. The soup should be fine in the fridge for 3 days or so. Just reheat the portion you need to a safe temperature. Here is more info from the experts: http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/turkey_leftovers.html. ~Amy
Hi, I have a question about the chicken broth, which I made and froze after my last slow cooker chicken. Today, I used the frozen broth to make your chicken noodle soup (which was so good by the way, thank you for this delicious recipe). Is it safe to keep the leftovers in the fridge for a few days, given the broth has been made, frozen, and now heated and used in the soup? Thank you :)
My kids are asking for bowl after bowl of this soup. So simple, but the homeade stock is key. Delicious and easy. Thank you!
I used elbows and it came out ok.
Is 5 minutes enough time for the vegetables to cook?
Hi Steve. It is. But, you could add them a little sooner if you prefer them to be more soft. ~Amy
Any type of grains are bad for you, whole grains are just a consumer blind fold, so we get tricked into believing we are actually eating a healthier version of grains…There are a lot of substitutes you can use instead of wholegrain. Also the bought pasta is quite processed…don’t fall for it! Please educate yourself more on wholegrain products! Short blog i found online and I am sure there are more http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/
I just made stock last night after roasting a chicken for dinner yesterday. I froze it in quart size bags to use later. Thank you so much for all of your great tips, recipes, and info. I love your site! :)
Can you give me a rough idea how many pounds (or cups of “penny” chopped) of baby carrots I would use in this recipe? I buy my organic baby carrots in 5 pound bags at Costco. Thank you!!!
Hi Shawna. Not sure about weight but the conversion I use for carrots to baby carrots is 6 baby carrots=1 medium carrot. So according to this recipe, you would need about 60 penny sliced baby carrots. Hope that helps. ~Amy
This looks so delicious! I love the idea of using the crockpot for the chicken. I believe nothing is more comforting that homemade chicken soup. I will give this a try this season. I make lots of chicken soup, and love trying new recipes! Thanks.
Just made the whole thing – the whole chicken, followed by the overnight broth, and the soup (finally) today. It was fantastic! I froze 9 thermos sized portions for my daughter’s lunches. Like another commenter, I didn’t have enough broth at the end (and I measured exactly 9 cups to start.) I followed the recipe exactly. I ended up having to add one whole box of chicken broth to get enough liquid at the end. Any thoughts on why it used so much liquid? Otherwise I am very pleased and appreciate the recipes you post!
The pasta absorbs the cooking liquid, so it’s not going to have as much liquid at the end as what you started with.
Hello. I recently discovered your site and I LOVE IT! I am psyched to get my school lunches in even Bette reorder. Already reread the smoothie containers and cupcake holders as well as the glad containers. My question is about the chicken noodle soup. I have done the chicken in the crock pot before and made my own stock several times and it’s amazing. But when you freeze kid portions of that for lunches do you freeze it with the noodles and all in the c.jar then reheat in the am? Just wondering how the noodles do with the freezing? Thanks and keep up your good work! Loving it.
Hi Shelby. Yep,we freeze it all and the noodles hold up fine. ~Amy
Just made the soup and it was FANTASTIC!! My 6yr old who usually will only eat the broth of canned chicken noodle, gobbled this right up and didn’t think twice!!the only problem I had was it seemed like my broth was a little low at the end. Not sure if I didn’t have enough broth or a little too much noodles?? Any suggestions for next time?? Plus, I may add some chives next time. All in all, not too bad for my first ever chicken noodle soup and best of all, totally fresh!!
We made the crockpot chicken a week ago & the stock overnight to put in the freezer. Tonight was the chicken noodle soup & it was a big hit!! My husband had two large bowlfuls & the 4.5 year old liked it, too. Delicious! Thanks!
Delicious! After serving crock pot chicken yesterday, I then made the stock and soup. My 7 and 4 yr old children were standing by the stove waiting to taste the soup! I added some pressed garlic and softened the carrots and celery in a bit of olive oil before adding them to the stock. My husband didn’t even want me to freeze any, he wants it all now! It’s a winner on a rainy spring day!
One tip I have for chicken noodle soup – add a little turmeric. It gives it a certain something.
Hi Stefanie. You could always freeze it and add it to your next batch. You could use it to flavor another dish, as well. ~Amy
I made the whole chicken and then the overnight stock. I only have about a quart of stock. Now what?! I was going to make your soup, but obviously don’t have enough stock for some reason.
What is the best way to defrost the soup once frozen? Stovetop? Thanks
Hi Erin. If you know the day before that it is on your menu, pop it in the fridge to defrost. If it is a last minute thing, I usually defrost in the microwave. If you use the stovetop, use a lower heat setting because it is easy to burn. Hope that helps. ~Amy
So, I made the whole chicken, the broth, and the soup today for a family get together. Yum! Everyone loved it! Thanks!
This chicken soup recipe is very close to one I use about every two weeks during the winter months. I make about 5 quarts at a time and freeze as needed. My go to veggies in the soup are carrots, celery, fennel (just the bulb), onion, garlic and frozen peas.
To really give the chicken broth some depth try the following (I know some of these items sound “out there” but try them):
Microplane fresh nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon or less to taste.
Crushed or ground whole coriander seeds, one teaspoon or more to taste.
Good squeeze of fresh lemon in the soup just before serving.
Fresh chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon added to soup just before serving.
Now you’ve got some serious chicken soup!
Noodles/pasta:
Make your own as it’s really easy and they cook in two minutes.
100 grams flour or about one cup, one large egg, pinch of salt and small drizzle of olive oil. Mix. Roll out thin keeping both sides well floured on your counter or board. Roll thin dough up like a wrap and cut in 1/4″ strips across. That’s it….pasta machine makes this process much faster if you find you like making your own pasta often.
Would you happen to have a recipe for a healthy version of Ramen Noodles? If not, perhaps a suggestion for a great tasting noodle substitute, we could figure out which spices to use. I assume these ramen noodles are fried and that would be why they aren’t healthy…what’s your opinion? My son just loves them, but I have stopped buying them for him.
Hi Kim. No, we don’t have any such recipe. Jill
This soup is delicious! Thank you, love your site :)
The stock and soup are amazing! Shared it with my facebook friends and it was a total hit with them too. This is my new go to soup on a chilly winter night. Thank you for always sharing fantastic recipes :)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=515828861783461&set=a.123677214331963.13283.123634807669537&type=1
We first made the crockpot chicken, then the chicken stock, and have just finished round 1 of the soup…YUMMY. We have typically purchased chicken noodle soup from Whole Foods soup bar and thought we hit the jackpot on delicious tasting soup until now. I love it that we made everything from scratch and that I am eating natural soup with NO preservatives or additives. The broth is SO delicious and hearty. All we added was a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I used whole wheat pasta shells that required just a little more boiling. My only lesson learned is to chop the carrots, celery, and chicken into larger pieces than I did this time around. I think I went a little crazy and chopped everything too small. But that’s the only thing I’d do differently. We love this soup and I can’t imagine buying chicken soup anymore when it’s this easy and tasty to make it ourselves. Thank you!
Has anyone tries barley in the soup instead of noodles? I tried a little bit of brown rice but ended up mushy after being reheated once. But thought barley might work.
Hi Christy. I make mine with brown rice (my husband is gluten free) and I just keep the rice separate and when I’m ready to eat the soup I add the rice to each individual serving. You might want to give that a try. Jill
I just had one question – if the noodles are packaged, then how can they be clean? I’ve been looking high and low for a non-processed boxed noodle and can’t find it!
Hi Kim. We still allow products with 5 ingredients or less under “our rules”. Check out this brand of pasta here that we like…it’s called BioNaturae…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#other. Jill
I have a question about freezing portions for another time. I bought the small canning jars, when you reference freezing portions of soup on this website in the jars, am I following the directions for canning or can I just slap a lid on it and put it in the freezer?
I’ve wondered the same thing! Seems like a silly question, but what is the best way to put soup (or anything) in these glass jars? I tried just putting the lid on it but haven’t opened it so dont know the result yet.
Hi Lindsey. For the soup, we just freeze it, no canning. Jill
Hi Christie. For this soup, we’re just referring to freezing the portions. Jill
Made this for the first time tonight. Never made homemade soup before so I was happy it turned out. Plus I was even able to cook the chicken and stock last night, then work today and put everything in a pot when I got home from work today.
Just a question about freezing this soup. Won’t freezing it with the noodles make the noodles extremely soggy?
Hi Sarah. I’m not sure it will make the noodles soggy as much as the noodles tend to absorb the liquid. Once you defrost it you could always add a little extra chicken stock if that were the case. Jill
I really like my noodles al dente, so when I make this soup I’m going to leave the noodles separate and just ladle the soup over them for each serving. So when I freeze this, I’ll just make separate noodles the day after I pull it out.
Wednesday I did your chicken in a crock pot whlie I was at work. After dinner, I threw everything back into the slowcooker with some garlic cloves, carrots, and celery and let the stock brew all night and Thursday during the day. Last night I drained all the yuck and made this soup! We added some matzo balls (not a fan!) and some chopped zuchinni from the garden.
All in all, a very easy and succesfull week of cooking! We had chicken for dinner Wed, chicken salad sandwiches for lunch Thursday and Chicken Noodle Matzo soup for dinner Thurs and again for lunch today.
AND now I have a freezer with quite a bit of frozen chicken noodle matzo soup!
Heading back to the recipe page to see what I’m going to do this weekend!
I follow exactly the recipes for chicken in the crock pot and the home made stock. Now I am doing the home made soup. I tried the stock and it’s a little too spicy. What can I do for the soup to taste not so spicy so my 2picky kids to eat it?
Hi Andreea. The only thing I could think of that might be spicy is the pepper – maybe just omit that? Unless it’s another spice they do not like…you could always eliminate that. Jill
Maybe it’s the cayenne pepper from the “Crockpot Chicken” recipe if you’re going from that recipe to the stock? I know I have to omit that because I have Ulcerative Colitis and can have NO spice in anything.
Hi Lisa,
Just made your crock pot chicken and it was so delish! Making your crock pot stock now. So next of course will be your chicken soup. I was just looking it over to see what I would need and noticed something about Matzo balls however, I can’t find the recipe on your site. Can you help me locate this please. Love your site! Thanks for all the work you do.
Tracy
Glad you are enjoying the recipes! And yes you can add matzo balls, but I don’t think I ever posted the exact recipe anywhere. Try searching online for a matzo ball recipe that uses crackers (and not a powdered packet) and then buy whole-wheat matzo crackers to make it. It’s pretty simple…crushed crackers, eggs, salt and maybe a few other things. Good luck!
I’d like to see what recipe you use for the matzo balls. I tried one I found online and it was a total flop. Thanks for the stock and soup recipe though!
@Vanessa, I had to do the same (add more water).
I had approx. 12 cups of stock from using your recipe (ps the Chicken was AWESOME!) but I still needed more water. We’re a family of 6 so I really need to double this recipe.
I made it but I ended up needing a lot more stock, and I just added some water. I used an elbow macaroni though, and I added 1 onion. How would you substitute rice for the noodles? I love chicken, and rice soup but I’m not a very good cook ;)
This was the best chicken soup I have ever had! My husband and I loved it. I made it with the chicken and chicken stock from the crock pot recipes. DELICIOUS! So easy. Thank you!! :)
Very delish! The only thing we wound up changing was that I had some herbs de Provence from Costco so I added it to the crockpot chicken , omitted the garlic powder since I didn’t have any (the horror!) and b/c out of habit, added 1/4 cup of water. At the last moment, I just drizzled a touch of honey (yes, I am still working thru the sweet tooth)…with the stock, added the herb of Provence again and let her cook in the crockpot. For the soup, added loosely chopped onion and 2 potatoes and some rotini noodles. Kids and I gobbled it up! Too bad hubby is out of town so he can’t enjoy…
this may not be real food worthy, but I put a few drops of yellow food coloring in my homeade chicken broth and it looks beautiful!
You eat with your eyes first!
I LOVE your blog. Just finished “In Defense” and started “Omnivores Dilemma.” I am trying to make small changes and your info is really helpful.
Thanks!
Richard
I’m glad you are enjoying the recipes and blog…but I would definitely stay away from the food coloring (just because it is artificial!). You can buy natural food dyes online though.
This was great! My 2 and 3.5 year old even ate the carrots and celery! Thank you! :)
You’re right! This chicken noodle soup is sublime. Especially with the homemade stock and the crock pot chicken. The condensed variety is a thing of my past.
So delicious and easy!!! I am trying to lose weight so instead of noodles I made it with corn, peas, sweet potatoes and carrots, and then a dash of parsley and garlic. The mix of veggies really gave it something extra! Its more like…chicken and veggie soup, but still delicious!
What a coincidence! I happen to have stock going in the crockpot right at this moment. I follow the same method – roast the chicken one day and have some for dinner, then put the carcass in the crockpot with water and a little vinegar (I’ve read it draws out some calcium from the bones) overnight. In the morning, I strain the stock and put it back into the crockpot, along with any large pieces of meat that have come off the bones, and add the vegetables for soup. Dinner that night is nearly labor-free, a nice break after the chicken-roasting night. Here’s my tortilla soup variation (yes, no actual tortillas in the ingredients!) for a change of pace from chicken noodle: http://rosemaryevergreen.blogspot.com/2010/03/tortilla-soup.html
This might be a dumb question, but why do you need to boil the matzo balls in water rather than in the stock?
There is no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to cooking! The matzo balls take on a lot of liquid when they cook so if you boil them in your stock you won’t have enough stock left for soup! Not that I figured that out the hard way or anything :)
This looks yummy! Can’t wait to try it. I have a question about making my own chicken stock. I’ve always wanted to try it, but it sounds intimidating, but I’m going to try! You mentioned that the best way you’ve found it to make with leftovers from Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot recipe and that you make the stock with the leftover bones overnight. How do you do it overnight? Follow the chicken stock recipe and put it in the crock pot overnight instead of in a pot on stove?
You will love homemade chicken stock! So we make the chicken in the crock pot in the afternoon and then for dinner we pull all the good meat off the chicken leaving everything else in the crock pot. Then after dinner I just fill up the crock pot with water, add the bay leaf, parsley, thyme, carrots, celery, & onion and then put it on low all night long. Then the next morning I strain the stock and either refrigerate or freeze it. Works great!
I’m a newbie to this blog and, well, cooking anything not in the microwave. So forgive the elementary question while I try to play catch up: when you freeze this, what kind of container do you put it in? How do you thaw it to serve?
I think, from what she’s shown us of her freezer, they can be frozen in glass mason jars (not filled all the way to the top!).
As far as for how I defrost things: When I freeze pasta sauce in glass jars, I generally defrost it in the fridge the night before in the glass jar, then heat it up in a regular dish in the microwave or on the stove in a pan.
Lately I’ve been freezing my soups in “freezer safe” jars (not filled to the top so there is room for the liquid to expand) and to thaw them I take out a jar the night before then just heat it up on the stove the next day. I hope that helps…and I am so thrilled that you are giving cooking a chance! It can be very rewarding :)
This looks so yummy–perfect for the Fall weather. I will be trying a batch of this soup soon!
we like to add lots of veggies to ours. anything that we have on hand! it’s a good way to use fresh veggies that may not get used quick enough…
Sounds just like mine, except I add peas, and a dash of Summer Savory to mine. YUMMY! Especially in this cool, damp weather. Awesome reminder.
I’ve been looking for a good chicken noodle soup, this one looks perfect! Can’t wait to try it :)
After the rainy day we had, that looks like exactly what we need…and your recipe sounds just like mine! but those noodles are cool!
I had a great moment yesterday. Our family visited a local apple orchard, and I ordered an apple dumpling from the bakery. I adore apple-anything, so I was pretty excited about it, even though I knew it definitely wouldn’t follow “real food” rules. Well, my first bite was so disappointing that I couldn’t eat any more! I thought “I could make this myself SOOO much better!” The greatness in that thought was that since we’ve made the switch to real food, I’ve often complained often about making “everything” myself and how I still sometimes crave those treats. In that moment, I realized that I love real food so much better, I love making it myself, and I love knowing that I’m using the best (or at least much better) ingredients that will improve my family’s health. I’m in for the long haul!
I’ve had moments similar to that. For example, about a week ago I went out for the day and forgot my water bottle. The place I went had a drink machine with sodas and sports drinks. I decided to go with the sports drink and it tasted horrible. It was like I could almost taste the chemicals in it. Same with supermarket vs farmers market produce, the super market variety tasted like a watered down version of the fresh,local produce. I can honestly not see myself going back to my old way of eating.
I find your point to be especially true the few times we actually eat out. I always think I will appreciate a nite off from cooking, but then when my food comes it tastes like a tin can, chemicals or just like processed junk. So I pick at my dinner with visions of what we could have had if we hadn’t gone out!! Real food is just toooo good!
I’ve had similar experiences “rewarding” myself for a job well done with a processed food only to be seriously disappointed. I just read this article http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/whats-really-in-your-food and it’s just sickening what most companies put in food these days! 80-100 ingredients in things like a hamburger, sundae, and pot pie?! Absurd!
I can relate…there are so many things I will only eat at home now b/c I know that’s where it will taste best! :)
America’s Test Kitchen has a recipe for a great stock that only takes an hour.
Is this the same recipe you freeze and send for lunch in the canning jars?
Yes, exactly. Except I did add the whole-wheat matzo balls to the batch you saw in the jars as well. My kids love this soup (and so do we!)
Lisa,
Where did you find the yummy whole wheat pasta in the photo. Those shells look delish!
I am currently in love with those little pasta shells! I got them at Earth Fare of course…my favorite store. It is one of their store-brand organic whole-wheat pastas sold in a bag.
Try adding crushed or minced fresh garlic, one onion (chopped), and some dried or fresh parsley. It really adds to the flavor of homemade chicken noodle soup!
So true that once you make homemade stock you can’t go back. It really is easy and so healthy and delicious.
I made some just like this last week only I added some chopped onion. I can never go back!! This makes the BEST soup!!
Yum, I just made a batch of homemade stock last night. It smells heavenly!