Great Chicken Soup Recipe

     A chicken soup that will work nicely in the summer as well as the winter. Soup that will stand up well alone as complete meal. Just some garlic toast and you're set.
     I use chicken breast meat. The boneless and skinless is much easier to use. The bone in with skin renders the best flavor as bones are used to make stock and the only fat on a chicken is the skin. I use about two pounds of chicken. Make a big batch and have plenty to share and freeze for another time. Use two pots. One for the chicken and one for the rest. Put the thawed chicken breast in the pot and bring to boil. Drop back the temp and let cook fully. It is almost impossible to over cook chicken. Put in some salt and pepper.
     Fill a large stock pot about a third of the way with water and bring to a simmer. As the stock pot is warming up you can be working on the vegetables. You will need a bunch of carrots, a stock of celery, two medium onions, a few cloves of garlic, and three medium potatoes. Wash and peal the carrots. Cut into medallions and add to the stock pot. Wash and cut the celery in to about half in slices and add  to the stock pot. Wash and peel the onions. Cut them length wise and not too small so they do not boil into oblivion as I like to have them visible in the finished soup. A few cloves of garlic peeled and crushed or even minced garlic will do. Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut into about half inch or so pieces and add to pot. If you are using boneless skinless chicken breasts add four or five chicken bullion cubes or a can of chicken stock. Add them to the cooking stock pot with the vegetables. Season with salt and black ground pepper. Add three table spoons of balsamic vinegar. About the same amount of hot sauce. Take it up to a steady boil for about fifteen minutes and drop it back to a simmer.
     When the pot with the chicken cooks about 40 minutes or 180 degrees and up it is done. Shut off that pot and let the chicken cool in the pot. Take out the boneless breasts and pull them apart by hand in about 1 inch or a little smaller pieces. Not too small so they don not disappear in to the soup. So that there is many chunky pieces As you want the soup to be chunky. The bone in breasts render the most flavor but are much more labor intensive. First remove the bone in breasts and put them on the cutting board. Take the liquid remaining in the chicken pot and pour it into a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add this to the cooking vegetables in the stock pot. Carefully separate the chicken and chicken skin from the bones. Putting the meat in one bowl and the skin in another. Again pull the meat into reasonably large chunks. Toss the bones as you have basically got the stock out of them. Stressing to make sure and be careful separating the bones. Finding a bone in your soup ruins the experience. Add the skin for a little more flavor and a homey look if you choose. tearing it up into small pieces. Discard if you want lighter looking finished soup.
      In another pot get some of the no egg needles. The wide ones. After cooking put in a large tupperware container and put in the fridge. I do not add to the soup leaving that option to the ultimate dinner as the soup already has the potatoes for carbs and a little different recipe.
     At this juncture check your vegetables for softness. Not too firm but not falling apart. At this point you are almost done. As the chicken is fully cooked. This is a good time to take a sample. Add seasoning if needed to taste.
     Serve with garlic toast and enjoy. Put the noodles out in a bowl if someone wants to add them their portion of the soup. Being cold they will warm up quickly with the rest of the soup. Take some to your neighbors. Portion some out in lunch size containers and refrigerate. Enjoy.