I love to buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store....I can serve the chicken for supper one night, along with potatoes and a vegetable, and then I can use what is left from the chicken to make soup! If you don't care about the extra fat in your stock, you could make this all in one day. However, I like to "de-fat" my stock, so it takes a bit longer.
Ingredients:
1 leftover store-bought rotisserie chicken
1/2 bag (6 oz) extra wide noodles
2 quarts chicken broth (boxed/canned or from bouillon)
2 big carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds or half-rounds
salt and pepper
In a large stockpot, place the chicken along with the sliced carrots. Add enough water to cover the chicken and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. I like to simmer until the chicken comes off the bones easily. I then take the chicken out of the broth, remove all of the meat, and return the bones and skin to the water. Put the meat back in the fridge and simmer the stock for about 4 hours.
**I've found that if you put the leftover chicken pieces in with the bones while you're making broth, the chicken meat tends to lose nearly all it's flavor. Better to save it & add in later.
After the stock is finished, strain and cool. Then I refrigerate the stock overnight and the next morning, I take off the fat that has risen to the top. I save this in a container, in the freezer, to make suet for the birds. *Recipe for that coming soon!
I place the stock back on the stove and add the canned broth (if you want a thinner soup, you can add more broth after the noodles are cooked). After the stock has started boiling, I add the noodles and cook until tender. Then I cut the chicken up into cubes and add it to the pot. Heat on low until chicken is warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste and Voilà !! SUPPER!!!!
A.Marie