Recipe Of The Week: Chicken Noodle Stew

Last night I was signed up to bring dinner to a sick acquaintance.  It also happened to be our first "snow" of the winter (though it lasted all of an hour).  It felt more than appropriate to make home-made soup for the occasion.  The best part was, I made a giant batch and had dinner for my friend and for us all in one fell swoop.  Woot.  Here's the recipe!

Chicken Noodle Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large carrots, diced
3 stalks celery (with tops), diced
4 cups chicken broth*
2 cups water
pinch salt
dash pepper
dash thyme
2 oz fettuccine noodles, broken into 3rds

In a stock pot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until soft but not brown.  Add carrots and celery and sautee 2 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions until just al dente.  Drain and rinse.  Before serving, stir pasta into soup.  Serve with garlic bread or cheddar biscuits if desired.

* To make home-made chicken broth, boil 8 cups of water with 1 chicken carcass (cleaned of meat) for 3 hours.  Remove carcass and allow to cool.  Skim fat from top and strain.

NOTE: This soup is great for 'cleaning out the fridge' - in addition to the carrots and celery, I also added fresh green beans, zucchini and broccoli to make the soup extra healthy and extra hearty.  Yum!