TexMex Chicken Noodle Soup

I know, I know.  It is completely insane to cook up a big batch of boiling soup in August in Arizona. I must sound totally cuckoo bananas, but I had the biggest craving for a really hearty chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles last week. I couldn't stop thinking about it! When I asked Scott what he thought of the idea, he was on board and suggested we put a Tex-Mex spin on it. So, I didn't let the 115 degree weather get me down-- I turned the fan up high and got to work!

First, I got a large pot hot with olive oil. To that I added four chopped carrots, four chopped celery stalks, two chopped onions, and eight minced garlic cloves.

Next, I added one chopped jalapeno, one chopped green bell pepper, one chopped Anaheim pepper, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Those were all my "Tex-Mex" components. Chipotle peppers would be delicious as well! I let this saute for about ten minutes.

While the veggies were cooking, I shredded up a rotisserie chicken from CostCo. They have the best rotisserie chickens! They are big and juicy and by far the best price around. I reserved all the shredded meat and covered it in the fridge for later. 

Then I added the chicken carcass (I know it sounds kinda gross, but trust me on this) to the vegetables in the pot to start creating the homemade chicken broth. 

I added just enough water to cover, brought it to a boil, then reduced to a simmer and let the flavor develop for about five hours. You don't need to let it go that long, but the longer it goes the more flavor is imparted into the soup!

About fifteen minutes before we were ready to eat, I started my dough. It's the easiest dough EVER! All I did was mix two cups of flour with about a tablespoon of salt and mounded it up on the counter with a small well in the middle. In the well, I added two large eggs. I gradually mixed the eggs and flour together until well combined. The dough looked like this:

I cut the ball of dough in half with a pizza cutter. Then I rolled out each half as thinly as possible. Look at the super cute rolling pin my friend Sara gave me as a gift last year!

Once the dough was all rolled out, I used the pizza cutter to cut thin strips the size of the noodles I wanted! So easy!

These noodles cook up super quickly. I brought the soup back up to a boil, fished out the chicken carcass and discarded it. I threw the noodles in for about a minute and then added the reserved shredded chicken. I turned off the heat at this point and served up almost immediately. There is nothing quite as satisfying as biting into that homey, yummy, delicious goodness of homemade noodles in a rich broth!

Another thing that was really cool about this batch of soup: it made a TON! Scott and I each had two bowls, reserved two bowls in tupperware in the fridge, shared a bowl with a friend, and had enough to vacuum seal and freeze for four more portions!! You can't beat the flavor or how far this stretches your dollars! Today, Scott is feeling a little bit under the weather. I pulled out one of the vacuum sealed freezer bags of soup and it is defrosting in the fridge. I'm sure a warm, comforting bowl of homemade chicky noodle will be just the thing he needs to get feeling chipper again!

Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear of any suggestions, ideas, or comments you have! I'm up for any type of challenge. Let me know what you think. You're all wonderful. Happy eating!

Until next time, xoxo