More soup for the weary

My girls are sick. They have been sick for nearly three weeks, with a few days in between of realatively good health. Like everyone in my family the first thing I do when my girls are not feeling well is make Chicken Noodle Soup. They do not sell canned stock in Finland, and cubes don't have the nutritional content of real stock. So here is my recipe for Chicken stock and then the soup.

I save chicken bones in the freezer so that I am ready whenever I need to make stock. In a large pot I put the chicken bones, water and vegetables. Usually I use 2-3 carrots, 3-4 stalks celery, one large onion and 3-4 garlic cloves. All the vegitables are unpeeled and cut into large sections. In additions to the veg I add 2tsp of salt, 1tsp of peppercorns, 1tsp dried rosmary, 2 bay leaves and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

It takes between 2-3 hours for the stock to cook properly at a low simmer. Once the stock is done I let it cool and skim off as much fat as possible. I strain the stock into plastic containers and put it to freeze for later use.

For the Chicken Noodle Soup you need

300g chicken
1l chicken stock
1 carrot chopped
1 parsnip chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 onion chopped
200 ml macaronni

Lightly brown the chicken in the pot then add the stock. When it has come to the boil add the vegitables. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes then add the pasta. Bring the heat back up to a rolling boil and let cook for 8-10 minutes.

If you have leftover chick that also works great, so use it.

My girls are little so like their soup fairly bland, but I usually add Tom Yum soup base and a handful of spinach to my bowl for a spicky and delicious lunch.