Remember that time I mentioned making my own Vegetable Stock and then turning it into Chickenless Noodle Soup?
Wait, that was just yesterday; my how times flies when you’re having fun. Perhaps taking a week off allowed me to get my act together. Yeah that’s it. I’ve got my game face on, and I’m ready to go.
You probably shouldn’t expect this kind of behavior on the regular, especially because I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, outside of more food pictures; obviously. Today though, I’m bringing homemade Vegetable Stock and Chickenless Noodle Soup to the table, because where else would I bring it. Soup is one of those delicate juggling acts where a stable surface should always be involved. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Before I get right to the goods, I have to direct you over to Kirsten’s blog because she is the source of all my homemade veggie stock knowledge. Without her, I’d still be shelling out major bucks at the grocery store because I’m a soup nympho in the wintertime. For real, I have to have it at least a couple of times of week. I’m insatiable. Wink, wink; you didn’t think I could go an entire post without some kind of innuendo. Pish, posh.
For the actual Vegetable Stock recipe, click here, although my cliff notes version says to save all the bits and bops of veggies you normally compost and toss them into your Freezer, preferably in a storage bag or container of some sort. If you go container less, more power to you, but don’t expect me for dinner anytime soon. Bad kitchen hygiene and I don’t play well together.
In my quart sized Freezer bags, you’ll find some potato peels, pepper tops and seeds, carrot shavings and lids, celery leaves, onion and garlic skins, maybe some broccoli stalks if I don’t feel like making pesto. When I get two quart sized bags full, I toss it all into a smaller Crock-Pot with water, salt, seasonings and viola…homemade Vegetable Stock.
Everything in the middle of the picture on the left found its way into my stock.
Kirsten is a genius; plus she allows me to contact her every time I have a question about freezing produce, which is almost as often as my insatiable soup fetish. Thanks love; I sure do appreciate it.
Now even though I owe my Vegetable Stock to her, the Chickenless Noodle Soup recipe is all mine, ignoring the fact the veggie stock plays a huge role. Cough, cough; it might be the star of the show.
I’ve had a hankering for Chicken Noodle Soup for a while now. There’s something incredibly warming, aside from the actual temperature, and inviting about a well seasoned bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup. It invokes strong memories of being comforted and nurtured and who doesn’t like to be taken care of every so often? That’s a rhetorical question, but if you answered no, you might have some trust issues. I suspect a bowl of Chickenless Noodle Soup can help with that.
Back in my carnivorous days, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about a piping hot serving of Chicken Noodle Soup….well, except the actual chicken. I’d pick my way around the meaty parts and instead focus my razor-sharp skills on the carrots and slurping up as much broth as my tight cheeked mouth would allow. When I was done, there’d be a pile of meat in the bottom of the bowl and not much else, which is why I’ve decided to skip the meat altogether in this recipe. Well that and I don’t eat it anymore. Details, details.
If you are looking for a warm and inviting bowl of soup, without all the dribs and drabs of meat, then this soup is for you. It’s savory and satisfying, sans chicken. The ingredients are simple, pantry classics and produce staples, at least in my house. The end result is a warm, hearty and filling bowl of well seasoned soup, where I finally get to lick my plate….er, I mean bowl, clean.
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion, minced
- 3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
- Salt & Pepper
- 5 Carrots, peeled and diced (save the shavings for your next batch of veggie stock)
- 4 Celery Stalks, diced.
- 8 Cups of Vegetable Stock
- 1/2 to 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (optional)
- 1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley
- 12 ounces Egg Noodles
- Heat a large pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl around pan. Once hot, add your minced onions and cook until translucent, approximately 6 minutes. Add your minced garlic and a crank of Salt and Pepper. Cook an additional minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Reduce heat to medium low and add your carrots and celery and cook until slightly softish (I like a little chew in my veggies), approximately 10 more minutes.
- Add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Add cayenne pepper, parsley and egg noodles and cook according to package directions. While the egg noodles are cooking away, you should test the broth. I used homemade Rosemary Garlic Salt in my vegetable stock, so I didn’t need any additional seasonings, but you might. Taste it and add additional salt, pepper and other seasonings as necessary. Once the egg noodles are cooked through, remove the soup from heat and enjoy.
When was the last time you had a bowl of homemade Chicken Noodle Soup? Have you ever made it sans meat? Do you make your own Vegetable Stock? Would you consider trying it?
YUMM!!! I’m the only soup eater in my family so we don’t make it nearly as often as I would like, but I’m totally going to add this to my repertoire of quick things to throw together on fend night… yes we have many a night where we “fend for ourselves” out of whatever is left in the kitchen, gets interesting sometimes.
And you make your own veggie stock to boot, you really are brilliant!
I like the sound of these fend for yourself nights in the kitchen. I want to come over for one of those.
I was shocked by how easy it is to make your own stock; for real, a monkey could probably do it so long as he had a Crock Pot.
There’s something SO rewarding about making your own stock. I’ve recently been making chicken stock from rotisserie chickens. That part totally grosses me out, but the stock tastes so good in the end! I was thinking about making a veggie version sometime, and I like that you include literally every part of the vegetable in there. Thanks for the inspiration!
All my veggie bits and bobs are now making their way into my stock. I love it because I feel like I’m using every ounce and wasting nothing.
Making your own chicken stock is also impressive. Kudos to you!!
Ohhh man I am so sick right and it is SO cold so you can bet your ass I’ll be making this ASAP (or forcing JD to try to make it for me… not sure I trust him to not accidentally poison me haha).
If you were here in Cleveland, I’d bring your sick ass a big bowl.
Feel better soon.
MMMM that broth sounds GREAT 🙂 I typically do Chicken Noodle-less soup – ha! So thank you for giving me an idea for a base!! Chicken soup reminds me of my mama! She made it for me whenever I had food poisoning, it truly works!
Chicken noodle soup has actually been proven to be helpful when you’re sick so I’m not surprised. Hopefully it’s not the actual chicken curing you because I’d be in trouble then.
When was the last time I had a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup? Why, yesterday! I didn’t make it–it was Carol’s turn to bring lunch at work and she made it. Parsnips in her stock–yum!
I love what you’ve done here, and love the idea of all noodles, none of the meat (though I’d totally eat the meat too). Um. Right.
Thank you for the link love! Right after Thanksgiving I threw the turkey carcass into the freezer and when I used my last container of stock Monday making tomato soup for my girlie I decided I’d better get the crock pot out and make more. So a day+ later I’ve got 3 quarts ready. 2 will go into the freezer and one will get used this week.
Parsnips in the stock. What a great idea.
Thank you for answering my bazillion questions about making veggie stock. It’s very much appreciated!!
Oh, thank you, thank you, Meghan. I’m going to start saving veggie bits IMMEDIATELY!!! I’m excited and I’ll let you know how it goes! Yay!!!
Yes, yes, yes!!! I can’t wait to hear about your first time making stock in the Crock Pot. It couldn’t be easier. You’re going to love it.
I’ve made my own turkey stock before…does that count? Can’t believe I’ve never thought to use the crock pot! Seriously, it’s so easy so I have no idea why I don’t do it more often! Oh wait, I know, it’s because I totally suck at planning ahead! I have to admit, the ONLY time I ever crave chicken noodle (or any broth based soup) is when I’m sick. And really? Am I that oblivious that I didn’t know egg noodles came in any other shape but the fat ribbony kind?
Turkey stock counts. As a matter of fact, any kind of stock counts.
You need to get out more and explore the world of pasta. When done correctly, it’s almost as good as cheese and even better when topped with cheese.
Ohhh I actually had chicken noodle soup JUST before I came up to Sydney because I told mum I had a sore throat and flu 😛
I haven’t made vegetable stock before, but I have with beef and chicken 😉 Meat meat meat. And your soup looks amazing- THAT is the ideal noodle to liquid ratio.
I think it’s the ideal noodle to soup ratio as well. You want some broth, but you don’t want your soup to be swimming in it.
Of course you’d be all about the meat, you big meat head. I say that as a compliment because I’ve seen you flexed. Instagram wasn’t lying; you’ve got muscles there.
What noodles did you use?
I used Egg Noodles. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I just made this recipe. It seems to be lacking flavor. Is there anything I can do to get some more flavor in there? I’m a vegetarian so chicken is out of the question 🙂 I used whole grain linguine noodles so maybe that’s why it’s not tasting quite right? Any suggestions would be highly appreciated! Thanks!
Hi Katie. Thank you for making the soup and I’m sorry the flavor isn’t as strong as you’d like. The kind of stock you use will have a large impact on flavor. For example, low salt or sodium stocks always have less flavor. I personally used a homemade stock which was really strong so it helped. To amp up the flavor at this point, I’d suggest adding more salt and parsley. You can add some black pepper too and more cayenne, although the last one will up the heat as well as the flavor. I hope that helps. You could also add a little bit of onion and garlic powder too. Let me know how it turns out, and thanks for reaching out.
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