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Middle of the afternoon yesterday it hit me, chicken noodle soup would be PERFECT for supper.
The problem?
It's 2:47 and I have no chicken thawed out.
But I needed chicken noodle soup today. The damp cool day was begging for chicken noodle soup.
Tell me I'm not alone? Chicken noodle soup just hits the spot on a rainy day, doesn't it?
Could I do it?
The problem?
It's 2:47 and I have no chicken thawed out.
But I needed chicken noodle soup today. The damp cool day was begging for chicken noodle soup.
Tell me I'm not alone? Chicken noodle soup just hits the spot on a rainy day, doesn't it?
Could I do it?
I thought I could. So, I grabbed a package of chicken backs out of the freezer and set to work. Chicken backs are perfect for chicken noodle soup as they make a beautiful broth and have just the right amount of meat on them for a big pot of chicken noodle soup.
First step was to thaw the chicken. Due to the obvious time constraint, I chose to thaw the backs in the microwave.
First step was to thaw the chicken. Due to the obvious time constraint, I chose to thaw the backs in the microwave.
Remember to remove the metal clip sealing the bag shut. This can be tricky to do straight out of the freezer but I simply ran that end of the package under warm water for a few seconds and it loosened enough to cut away the metal clip and the rest of the packaging easily peeled away too.
Next place the block of chicken backs in a microwave safe dish and use your defrost settings to thaw the chicken. Turn every couple of minutes and separate the backs as they begin to thaw. In total, thawing the chicken backs took me 20 minutes but I lost time by not being present each time the microwave paused and insisted that I come turn the backs ;)
Once the back were thawed I put them in my insta-pot along with 2 small yellow onions, 3 cloves of garlic and some herbs (my favorite for chicken noodle soup are rosemary and thyme) and salt and pepper. I used the onion and garlic skins too because I knew I wouldn't be canning this batch of broth.
Once everything was in the pot, I fill it with water to the fill line. Now I was ready to start up the insta-pot! I used the soup setting for 1 hour with natural release which adds another 15-20 minutes. By this time it was approaching 4pm and I headed to the living room to sew with my oldest daughter.
Now, I chose to come back to the kitchen around 5 and make homemade egg noodles but if you have egg noodles on hand, you can absolutely use them for this soup.
Once the insta-pot had done it's work and released pressure, it was around 5:30pm. I used a strainer to strain about half the broth into a large stock pot and placed it on the stove over med-high heat. Once the broth was boiling, I added the noodles and 3 or 4 carrots that I had chopped earlier when chopping the onions and garlic. While the carrots and noodles cooked, I sorted the meat from the bones and added the meat to the soup.
Voila! The best chicken noodle soup and I turned the burner off right at 6pm which is our normal supper time.
Bonus: We had enough soup left over for tomorrow's supper AND about 1.5 quarts of extra broth that I stuck in the freezer for future use.
Moral of the story: keep a package or 2 of chicken backs on hand for when a Chicken Noodle Day just sneaks up on you!
Now, I chose to come back to the kitchen around 5 and make homemade egg noodles but if you have egg noodles on hand, you can absolutely use them for this soup.
Once the insta-pot had done it's work and released pressure, it was around 5:30pm. I used a strainer to strain about half the broth into a large stock pot and placed it on the stove over med-high heat. Once the broth was boiling, I added the noodles and 3 or 4 carrots that I had chopped earlier when chopping the onions and garlic. While the carrots and noodles cooked, I sorted the meat from the bones and added the meat to the soup.
Voila! The best chicken noodle soup and I turned the burner off right at 6pm which is our normal supper time.
Bonus: We had enough soup left over for tomorrow's supper AND about 1.5 quarts of extra broth that I stuck in the freezer for future use.
Moral of the story: keep a package or 2 of chicken backs on hand for when a Chicken Noodle Day just sneaks up on you!
Recipe: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup in a Hurry
Ingredients
*if you use the garlic and onion skins, DO NOT CAN your leftover broth. It is perfectly safe to freeze but do not can it
Enjoy!
Emily
- 2.5lbs chicken backs (1pkg)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3/4-1 gallon water
- herbs to taste (I used about 2 tsp each of dried rosemary & thyme)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 12 oz dry egg noodles
- remove packaging, especially the metal closure
- thaw chicken using defrost settings in microwave
- place chicken backs, onion, garlic, herbs into insta-pot and fill with water the the fill line
- use soup setting for 1 hour and allow to naturally release pressure
- use a strainer to separate meat and bones, etc from broth
- pour about half of the broth into a stock pot and bring to boil on stove top over med-high heat
- add noodles and carrots to stock pot and simmer until carrots are soft and noodles are done - 15-20 minutes
- while noodles and carrots cook, remove meat from the bones and add meat to the noodles
- allow remaining broth to cool and then put in fridge or freezer to use at a later time*
*if you use the garlic and onion skins, DO NOT CAN your leftover broth. It is perfectly safe to freeze but do not can it
Enjoy!
Emily
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