For a bit of a stretch, we were getting chicken in various shapes and sizes through Friends and Farms, our grocery co-op. I’d finish broiling off or baking one set of split breasts or thigh quarters and more’d show up in the following week’s pickup. So, when another whole bird arrived, I was in a bit of a quandary as to what to do with it. I’d roasted three whole chickens already over the summer. And while I like roast poultry a lot, I didn’t want to do it again.
So, I ended up parting it out into quarters – leg/thigh, breast/wing – bagging it, and freezing it for later. And later lasted quite a while. During which, more chicken dutifully appeared in our insulated bag on Saturdays. Fortunately, the new fridge has a freezer drawer that really is a deep-freeze, keeping things sub-zero or thereabouts. So, it wasn’t a couple months later that I finally hauled those rock-solid quarters out in a decision to free up some bin space.
If you’ve never made real, honest-to-goodness, home-made chicken noodle soup, you will be surprised at a) how easy it is and b) how long it takes. I promise, however, the results are more than worth it. You just need a chicken, some basic vegetables, and a couple of common herbs. And time. Definitely time. In fact, this is a recipe in two parts, and you should plan on starting the process the evening before your intended meal. The following day, assembling the finished soup takes less than an hour.