Cold Buster: Chicken Macaroni Soup
Since bebe dada is sick, I decided to make him soup. He always makes me simple, yet delicious Chinese soups (see Winter Melon Soup and Wonton Soup) when I’m sick but I wanted to make good ol’ fashion chicken noodle soup.
What I ended up making was a hearty chicken, macaroni and vegetable soup with ingredients I had in the kitchen. One of the things I keep in my freezer is leftover whole rotisserie chicken from Costco.
Costco has the best rotisserie chicken for the best value, ever! For only $4.99 you get a warm, very large, tender, moist whole chicken. Trust me, Costco’s rotisserie chicken is better than Albertsons or Ralphs – I’ve had both. The rotisserie chickens offered there are smaller, saltier and not always consistently moist and succulent. In addition, the chicken at the supermarket tends to cost about $2-3 more.
Costco chicken is the basis of many of my family’s favorite dishes – chicken curry, chicken enchiladas, chinese chicken salad, and chicken soup. We’ll get to all of these recipes eventually, don’t worry! :)
Getting back to the soup…So after we have some rotisserie chicken for dinner, there’s usually about 1/2 a chicken left, which I freeze if I know I’m not going to use it for any other chicken dishes that week. Boiling the remaining chicken on medium low for about 2 hours results in a tasty chicken broth, with tender meat that’s fallen off the bone…a perfect start to my soup.
By now I’m sure some of you are wondering when my photography skills are going to improve.
I wonder the same thing every time I select a picture to upload. You can’t see any of the macaroni or celery that I added but trust me, they’re in there, and the soup truly was yummy!
Cold Buster: Chicken Macaroni Soup
- 10 cups of water
- 2 carrots
- 1/3 bunch of spinach, leaves only
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 medium onion
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans
- 1/2 cup uncooked small macaroni
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- pepper to taste
Use large stock pot and fill with water. Place whole chicken with carcass in pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer for approximately 2 hours.
I use a strainer to catch all of the small bones when separating the meat from the carcass. Usually most of the meat has fallen of the bone at this point and it’s fairly easy to shred the meat into medium pieces. Once the meat is separated from the carcass and bones, return the meat to the chicken stock and cook on medium-low.
Rough chop carrots, celery and onions and add to the pot.
Rinse the kidney beans until the water runs clear, drain, then add to the pot.
Add uncooked macaroni, salt and pepper. I use small macaroni because these suckers get really big after bathing in the soup for awhile.
I found that adding more water early on is important because as the soup simmers, the macaroni will absorb some of the water and the broth will reduce slightly.
Let cook for about 30 to 45 minutes until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent.
Just before serving the soup, bring the soup to a boil and add spinach leaves. Boil for 3 minutes, and skim the residue / foam that the spinach creates on the top of the soup.
I served the soup as is, but for a little added “pow” sprinkle some shredded parmesan on top.
Even without the cheese garnish, big onechan said, “mmm, this is good,” when I served some leftover soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. You know what THAT means – – – this soup PASSED! :)
- 10 cups of water
- 2 carrots
- ⅓ bunch of spinach, leaves only
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 medium onion
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans
- ½ cup uncooked small macaroni
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- pepper to taste
- Use large stock pot and fill with water. Place whole chicken with carcass in pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer for approximately 2 hours. Use a strainer to catch all of the small bones when separating the meat from the carcass. Return the meat to the chicken stock and cook on medium-low.
- Rough chop carrots, celery and onions and add to the pot.
- Rinse the kidney beans until the water runs clear, drain, then add to the pot.
- Add uncooked macaroni, salt and pepper.
- Let cook for about 30 to 45 minutes until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent.
- Just before serving the soup, bring the soup to a boil and add spinach leaves. Boil for 3 minutes, and skim the residue / foam that the spinach creates on the top of the soup.
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