Nuthin' Like Mom's Soup

I was feeling like I could use some TLC this weekend and was thinking of all the ways I could achieve some pampering. Visit a day spa? Get a pedicure? Go to the beach? All these sounded good, but what sounded really good was some of my Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. My mom makes chicken soup from scratch... and by scratch, I mean by scratch. She starts by cooking up a whole chicken, otherwise gross bits and all, in order to "get the best flavor". She cooks the chicken with celery, onions, and carrots to make a broth. Then she strains the broth over and over and over until the broth is almost clear. After that, the soup pot goes into the fridge to chill. This part, the waiting, was always the hardest part for me. You have to wait for the soup to chill so you can continue to remove fat from the broth. It congeals at the top and can be scraped off. Sometimes it's 6 hours, sometimes overnight. After that process, she heats the broth again and adds an assortment of chopped carrots, chicken, noodles, dumpling noodles (my favorite), and barley. It really is good for the soul.

Anyway, after explaining all that, I am NOT going to make it that way--I'm going to take a few shortcuts. I've bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts which I already trimmed off all the fat. I am boiling water with the chicken, carrots, onion and celery. I am also going to cheat and add some chicken soup base to add more flavor. (Don't tell my Mom). But, it should still be pretty tasty. So, every one grab a bowl and a spoon and come over!!!