soup blessings

So. To start: chop a sweet onion and a carrot up real fine. (For carrots I like to cut them in half lengthwise - or quarters if they're really thick - and then slice them.) (Note: it doesn't HAVE to be super fine, but I'm cooking for a teenager who hates the texture of cooked onions, so I've had to get good at chopping them finely enough that he can't feel them.)

Toss them into a big pot with a couple tablespoons of butter and 1-2 drops of sesame oil. (I really do mean drops. 1-2 drops will give your soup a nice warm flavor. More than that will overpower it.) Saute until the onions are translucent and the carrot is just starting to get soft.

Add seasonings: Accent (yes, it's msg, trust me it's good), celery salt, chives, powdered sage, powdered thyme, brown sugar. (TRUST me. You don't have to add a lot - you don't want it to taste sweet - but just a little bit balancing out the savory flavors takes the broth to the next level.) Add just a little of each and notice how nice your veggies smell.

Add shredded chicken - you can use a cheap rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, prepared chicken that you stuck in a slow cooker specifically for this soup, whatever. Some kind of precooked chicken, shredded up. Lots of it.

Add about half a bag of Manischewitz brand extra-wide egg noodles.

Now here's where I'm gonna stop you, because it is actually VERY IMPORTANT that you use this brand. Because here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna go to the grocery store, go to the noodle section, and see egg noodles for like a buck fifty. But not this brand. Then you're gonna go looking and find the kosher section and this brand is gonna be like three-fifty. And you're gonna think to yourself, "Why pay an extra two dollars? Why don't I just get the store brand?" Stop. That is the devil talking. The texture and flavor of these noodles is so much better, I promise you. I used to not even like egg noodles before these.

Anyway.

Add enough chicken broth/chicken stock/water with bouillon to cover everything. (I used water with Better Than Bouillon.) (You can even add extra bouillon for extra chicken flavor.) For me it was nine cups, might be different depending on exactly how much chicken and noodles you added.

Taste the broth. Add more of all the seasonings listed above until the flavor is the way you like it.

Cook until noodles and carrots are soft. I'd say don't overcook it, but honestly this soup is very forgiving; if your carrots get mushy it'll still be really good.

Scoop into bowls and enjoy good soup!