chicken ginger soup with homemade noodles

my good friend annika posted about making soup a few weeks ago - and so i'm sharing my favorite chicken noodle soup recipe with you. my kids will eat this, but they whine and complain about the celery. whatever. celery goes in chicken noodle soup. my OTHER friend had told me like a million times she'll give me her noodle recipe, but she's been hording it. however - i've finally found one that i like.

also - don't let the ginger throw you off. it's VERY subtle and it can be left out altogether. it adds a tiny bit of asian flair to a very american dish - and it's very yummy when you have a cold or if it's a cold day outside.

this would be wonderful to take to a friend who is under the weather - but if they aren't going to eat it right away, i'd consider leaving the noodles on the side for them to add when they reheat it. the noodles can get really soggy if it's not eaten all at once.

one other note: i can my own chicken at a local cannery, and so i use that to make this soup. i go with my good friend denise and her mom. it's super convenient for me to have one hand and this is just one of the recipes i make with it.

chicken ginger soup with homemade noodles

first, you need to make the noodles:

*1 cup flour (more or less)
*1 egg
*2 T milk
*1/2 tsp. salt

mix together in a small bowl. the dough will be very stiff. flour a surface lightly; roll out the dough to your desired thickness. i like to roll it up to cut the noodles, then i just unroll and break them up into the length i want. you can also just use a pizza cutter and cut the dough into strips. lay the noodles out in a single layer on a clean, dry towel. cover and let rest while you make the soup. (p.s. i would double this recipe for the soup below...)

now, on to the soup!

*2 15-oz cans of chicken (this is going to equal about 4 breast halves, cooked)
1/4 cup butter
*1 onion, diced fine
*2 carrots, peeled and sliced
*3 ribs celery, sliced
*2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
*1-2 T chopped fresh ginger (more on this later)
*2 T better than bouillon chicken base
*10 cups water

**(if you want to use canned chicken broth instead of the bouillon and water, use about 5-6 14.5-oz. cans)

let's chat about that ginger really fast. i have a blogging pal, mackenzie, and she did a good post on ginger way back in march of 2008. ginger is really cheap and you only need to purchase a tiny little chunk of it for this recipe - and even then you'll have extra for something else. you can use dried ginger if you have that - i'd guess 1/4-1/2 tsp. would be perfect.

second...do you have one of these?

if not, you should get one. it doesn't need to be the pampered chef brand, but you need a food chopper!

ok, finally i think we can cook.

melt the butter in a large soup kettle. chop the onions, add to the butter. season with kosher salt and pepper. chop the garlic and the ginger finely and add it to the onion. add the sliced celery and carrots to the pot, stir well. stir in the water, the bouillon, and the cooked chicken. you can cut or shred the chicken, whichever you like best. bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. when you are ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil again. drop noodles into the water, but don't drop them in a big clump or they could stick together. the noodles will cook in 3 mins or less. i like a chewy homemade noodle...

this recipe serves 8-10. it can be halved if you like...