I recently made homemade chicken noodle soup and was asked to share my recipe. I figured I could throw it up here as well.

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs (at least 4)
Garlic
White/Yellow onion
Green pepper
Carrots
Celery
Mushrooms
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
Poultry seasoning

Preparing:

Preheat oven to 275

Dice 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 3 whole carrots, 3 stalks of celery, slice 8 oz of mushrooms. Prepare the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning on the skin side.

Heat an oven-safe pan (cast iron works great) to medium/medium high heat and add canola or olive oil. Add garlic and brown, then add diced onions, add salt. Stir frequently until onions are translucent. Add in green pepper, carrots, and celery and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft.

In the same pan (move the mirepoix to the sides of the pan), add a little more oil and place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down. Season the other side and cover, letting the chicken cook until the skin is brown and crispy. Turn the chicken and add enough water to just cover the chicken in the pan. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Remove the pan from the stove and place in the oven for 2-3 hours to create a rich broth.

The chicken, after cooking before adding water.

At this point, remove the pan from the oven and remove the chicken from the pan. Let the chicken cool and use a strainer to separate the mirepoix from the broth. Collect the broth is a separate bowl. After the chicken has enough to be handled, remove the skin and fat and separate the chicken from the bone. Discard the bones and feed the skin to your dog because he’s a good boy and he will love you for it.

Jack, who is a good boy, yes he is, he’s a very good boy, who enjoyed the chicken skin.

At this point, it’s basically assembly – add 1 part broth and 1 part water to a pan (adjust for taste) and bring to a boil, adding in the chicken and mirepoix. Save the excess broth, if there is any, in the freezer for later. When you’re ready to eat, add noodles and serve in a bowl or over mashed potatoes. You can freeze the remainder of the noodle-free soup for a later day. I don’t recommend freezing the soup with noodles, because the noodles turn to mush.