Freezer Meals - Chicken Noodle Soup

Mmm...Chicken Noodle Soup, one of my favorite comfort foods. And, lucky for me, great for the freezer. So, tonight I whipped up a batch. Okay, maybe whipped is not quite the word. How about, mixed up a batch?

Here's how it works, roughly, of course. This recipe is actually a double batch, since that is what I made tonight.

Chicken Stock:

When I made Chicken Pot Pie the other day, I used two rotisserie chickens and used the breast meat for the pies and then put the remaining carcasses into the freezer for later use. For Chicken and Noodles, I start by putting those carcasses in a large stew pot and add water until the chickens are covered. Then, I put this on the stove and boil until the meat falls off the bones. Pull the chicken out of the water, which is now a nice, tasty broth. Next, pull the usable meat of the chicken and put it back in with the broth. This makes up the broth for your Chicken and Noodles.

Noodles: (Super Easy!)

1.5 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 eggs, beaten

Mix dry ingredients and then add eggs. This should mix into a stiff dough. If it is at all sticky, add more flour. When dough is thoroughly mixed, dump out onto floured counter. Roll dough out as thin as you can get it. I add lots of flour in this process to keep things from getting sticky. When you get that dough as thin as you can get it, roll it up - just like you did for beef roll-ups. Now, slice roll into about 1/4" slices. When you have a bunch of little rolls and the dough is all sliced, unroll the bundles. I like to pull these apart, because they make REALLY long noodles. I usually pull them into 3" or 4" lengths. Flour these well and give them 10-15 minutes to dry a bit. When they have settled, drop them one by one into the boiling broth. Let your noodles cook until they are done. When they get to this point they should no longer be doughy when you bite into them. I usually taste things and end up adding a little chicken bullion to give the broth more flavor. If you use a rotisserie chicken, you don't have to do much seasoning because there is so much flavor from the original cooking. However, if you are just using plain boiled chicken, make sure you season or it will be very bland. When we eat this, I like to serve it over mashed potatoes. However, you can also just eat it as soup.

To freeze, pour into Ziploc freezer bags and toss in your freezer. This freezes well and tastes great! Actually, I always like it better the next day when everything has had time to really meld. Enjoy!