Chicken Soup

... I didn't actually meal prep this weekend.  We have 3 lunches leftover from last week because of various lunches provided at our workplaces, and we had enough leftovers from dinner last night for 3 more lunches.  And I only need 2 lunches for work this week because we get out at 10 on Wednesday.  So Coby can enjoy some Taco Bell a time or two, and I can make him sandwiches for any other days that he needs lunch since I won't be at work...

I made a giant pot of chicken soup on my snow day off from school last Monday, so I decided to post that this week in place of my normal meal prep post.  I used this recipe from Dishes and Dust bunnies for general guidance.

Chicken Noodle Soup.  Goes well with bacon.

Buy a whole chicken.  4-6 ish lbs is good, ours was 5.8 lbs.  Remove the packet of I-don't-want-to-know-what from the stomach cavity and toss it.  Rinse off the bird and place it in the bottom of a 12 qt stock pot.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil, let boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.  When the meat is starting to come off the bones, remove the chicken from the pot and pull the meat off the bones.  (Coby did this part for me while I was out losing my mind running the 1.1 mile figure 8 loop around our neighborhood for 8.5 miles because it was too snowy to run safely anywhere else.) Return all of the meat and the leg bones to the pot. 

Chop and add a few carrots, about 1/2 onion, a cabbage, a big handful of mushrooms, and a bunch of celery.  Add basil, garlic, and oregano, and salt to taste.  Bring to a boil for a few minutes, then turn back to low, cover, and cook for 2 more hours. 

I cooked up some egg noodles separately and have been adding them to a bowl and then pouring soup over them each time I've eaten the soup.  It also goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches. 

You will have enough soup for many, many meals.  Last time I made this, I froze a bunch of it.  And had enough broth leftover after eating all the substance out of the soup that I could use it to make a few batches of risotto.  This time...we might just eat it until it's gone.  We're about to go on week 2 of soup for dinner and it's so delicious we don't mind.