It’s a well-known fact that most Bostonians pack on a few pounds once the temperature starts to drop. Reasoning says that we are just putting on a few layers to help protect from the cold, which is a natural biological response to our habitats. Humans are not alone either since millions of New England wildlife participate in the same ritual including cats, dogs, birds and bears. So if everyone is doing it, why feel guilty? For one reason, many of the foods that we are ingesting contain a higher amount of fat and processed sugars. These unhealthy additives are what make it a bit tricky when we finally decide to shed those pounds in the spring. If you think about it, you seldom see squirrels stressing about their winter waddle once the warm weather arrives because their calories needed to be burned are mainly nuts not ice cream and cream puffs. Does that mean forgo the comfort foods altogether in order to spare ourselves the trouble? Absolutely not! We can still indulge in this New England tradition of finding solace and warmth in our food; we just have to do it in a slightly different way. Try this recipe on for size!
photo credit via countryliving.com
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup is made by a variety of companies and there a few like Progresso and Campbell’s that are in all honesty, pretty good. The soup is for the most part, healthy so why should you make your own? In many canned brands, the salt and processed ingredients rank high and may even contain “iffy” ingredients that you can’t even pronounce when reading the labels. Using real poultry and veggies is always a better way to go where you can control the amounts of seasonings and be sure that your meats are fresh for cooking. You may not be able to can and shelf your finished product but freezing is a definitely possibility allowing you to re-cook and save for a later date! Wait to make this recipe after you’ve made a chicken roast so that you can use your own stalk, too.
How To:
Add 4 cups of your own chicken stalk to a crock-pot and set to low heat. If you couldn’t save this much stalk after cooking your roast, just add water slowly as the soup continues to cook-it will make it’s own broth over the course of the preparation. Add chicken that has been pulled from the leftovers being careful not to add in any bones or cartilage (it won’t taste good to those you serve and be disruptive to their palette. Chop roughly 2 celery stalks and 1 small onion and add that to the brew. Wash 4 large carrots and then peel and cut into circular shapes and then throw them in as well. Add 2 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the soup for 4 hours until the chicken naturally pulls apart and vegetables soften. In a separate pot, boil water to cook 4 cups of “No-Yolk” noodles. When done, rinse in a colander over cold water, afterwards adding the pasta to the soup. If you put the noodles in when they are still hot, they’ll dissolve in the soup creating a funky consistency, so make sure you rinse them first in cold water. Serve in crock bowls with a fresh piece of Italian bread and bon appétit!