Homemade Chicken Soup

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe has been passed down through the generations in my family and it remains a family favorite today.  The original recipe came from my Oma (German for Grandmother), who I imagine got it from her Mom.  Oma taught my Mom how to make it and then they passed it down to me.

If you're craving comfort food, this tasty soup recipe is sure to please. Full of flavor and a such a healthy dinner idea your whole family will love.

• 1 Whole Chicken, Cut-up, (Giblets optional). You can usually find a whole chicken at the grocery store already packaged up with all you need, but really anything you find will work just fine. I have gone all out organic sometimes and other times I've just used a few random pieces that I've had on hand.
  
  Note on Giblets: If you can't deal with the giblets…forget them. Although, they really do add a depth of flavor that makes the soup taste incredibly good and I really do notice the difference when I don't use them. And besides, they're really easy to just pluck out and toss later.
  
• 4 quarts Cold Water, enough to cover chicken in the pot. Cold water will make clear broth.
  
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
  
• Onions, 2 cups, diced.
  
• Carrots, 2 cups diced.
  
• Celery, 2 cups diced.
  
  Struggling with your knife skills? Buy prepared, diced vegetables from the local grocery store. Or do what my mom did and just toss them in whole. The soup will still taste great!
  
• 5 Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes- We always add Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes to enhance the flavor. They make the soup taste so good!
  
  Substitution Suggestion: Substitute 1 Tablespoon of Salt for 5 Chicken Bouillon Cubes. We use Wyler's but feel free to substitute your favorite brand.
  
• 0.5 Pound Cooked Pastina or Egg Noodles for serving.
  
• Ground Pepper to taste when serving.

Tasty Tips

Choice of Pasta: We like to add some cooked Pastina (commonly called Acini de Pepe), which is a tiny little Italian pasta. As with the chicken, we prefer to keep the pasta in a bowl on the side and add it to the soup when it's served. If its added directly into the pot of soup, the pasta will become soggy and soak up all the broth!

Substitution Suggestion: Swap out Pastina for Israeli Couscous, Orzo, Ditalini, or the more traditional Egg Noodles.

Do Not Add Pepper: You may be tempted to add some ground pepper while you are adding the other seasonings, but don't. It will completely take over the flavor of the soup. So, add ground pepper to taste when the soup is served and not during the cooking process.

The Easiest Way to Debone Chicken

Debone the chicken while it is still warm. If you wait until it's cold, it will be more difficult to do. Just take a piece of chicken in your hand and slide the skin off with your thumb and discard it. Then either with a fork or your fingers, take the chicken off the bones and set the pieces aside and discard the bones. It's that easy and it takes just a few minutes to do!