If you don't have time or the inclination to cook a whole chicken and and stew it down for soup, not to worry, there's an easier way. Use chicken thighs. I use the boneless, skinless thighs, which take less time to cook and need little (if any) skimming. Nonetheless, bone-in, skin-on thighs will work for the soup, too. The bone-in version will just take a little longer to cook, and you'll need to skim the fat. The soup is full of vegetables, bits of tender chicken, and, of course, noodles. In this case, I use packaged spaetzle--egg noodles that are especially popular in Germany and the central part of Europe. I usually buy the noodles at Aldi or Lidl, which have them for a lot less than the foo foo markets. If you can't find spaetzle (or don't want to make your own), just use egg noodles. The soup makes a great "comfort food" dinner with a salad and bread, and leftovers are really good for lunches on cold days. Enjoy!
Chicken Thighs and Spaetzle Noodle Soup -- Serves 4+
2-3 teaspoons of canola oil
2 - 3 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 ribs of celery chopped
8 ounces of carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
2 quarts of water
1 tablespoon of reduced sodium chicken base (like "Better Than Bullion")
8-9 ounces of packaged spaetzle noodles
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the chicken thighs. Brown the thighs on both sides (they don't have to cook through). Add the chopped onion, celery, carrots, pepper, half the salt, the poultry seasoning, and the dried parsley. Stir the mixture and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the water and the chicken base and stir everything well. Partially cover the pot and let the soup cook for 30-45 minutes. Remove the chicken thighs and chop or shred them into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the spaetzle. Add a little more water, if necessary (i.e., you like a thinner soup). Partially cover the pot and let the mixture cook until the spaetzle is done (it will swell up, slurp up a lot of the liquid, and thicken the soup), about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining salt (or salt the soup to your taste). Stir in the fresh parsley just before serving the soup.
