It is Soup Month - Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

January is Soup Month . . . and what month could be a better month for us to enjoy a comforting and warm bowl of soup than January with all it's cold temps and snow! So, with this in mind, today - and throughout the month - I'm going to share with you some of my favorite soup recipes.

On Days of the Year (daysoftheyear.com) I found the following info about soup . . . 

• Historical evidence of the existence of soup dates all the way back to about 20,000 B.C. Boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of a waterproofed container, which started out as clay vessels. 
• Animal Hides and watertight baskets were also used along with heated rocks. 
• The word soup itself derives from the French word soupe which means soup or broth. 
• The word restaurant was first used in France, around the 16th century, to refer to a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup, sold by street vendors, which was advertised as an antidote to physical exhaustion.
• In 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in such soups. This prompted the use of the modern word restaurant for the eating establishments.
• In the US, the first colonial cookbook was published by William Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1742, based on Eliza Smith’s, "The Compleat Housewife; or Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion", and it included several recipes for soups and bisques. 
• A 1772 cookbook titled, "The Frugal Housewife", had an entire chapter around the entire subject of soups. 
• In 1897, Doctor John T. Dorrance, a chemist with the Campbell Soup Company invented condensed soup, which grew exponentially in popularity in the modern era. 

Since my grandsons - and my entire family - are big fans of my homemade classic chicken noodle soup, it seems like the place to start.

Ingredients -

• cooked chicken cut into pieces
• noodles - my grandsons love small shell noodles and I think they are a fun noodle for soup
• chicken drippings and/or broth 
• herbs - I tend to use marjoram and thyme and a bit of sea salt
• butter
• onion - cut and braised in the butter

Combine with water, bring to a boil, add noodles, cook for seven minutes and enjoy!

A very simple recipe for Classic chicken Noodle Soup - which you, of course, may "tweak" as you like to add carrots, other veggies or whatever you like for your own family favorite!

Enjoy!