Soup, Chicken with spaetzle, Carol's

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 12
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 257.3
  • Total Fat: 8.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 76.7 mg
  • Sodium: 867.1 mg
  • Total Carbs: 29.8 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
  • Protein: 16.7 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Soup, Chicken with spaetzle, Carol's calories by ingredient


Introduction

We always loved the texture of German spaetzle in lieu of noodles, so I like to make chicken soup using this pasta. It is available in specialty stores or in the regular grocery store with the specialty foods. Use the long noodle-like pieces instead of the droplets.
You can make this with a fresh fryer chicken but it takes much more time. I use a grocery store roasted chicken, along with the juices to speed this process up.
We always loved the texture of German spaetzle in lieu of noodles, so I like to make chicken soup using this pasta. It is available in specialty stores or in the regular grocery store with the specialty foods. Use the long noodle-like pieces instead of the droplets.
You can make this with a fresh fryer chicken but it takes much more time. I use a grocery store roasted chicken, along with the juices to speed this process up.

Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

    1 Whole Roasted Chicken, approx. 2 1/2#
    6 cups Water
    4 cup Clear Chicken Broth, low sodium
    1 tbsp. black pepper
    1 tsp. garlic powder
    1 tsp. salt
    3/4 cup Onions, finely diced
    3/4 cup Celery, finely chopped
    1/2 cup Carrots, finely diced
    1/2 cup fresh Parsley, washed & minced, (approx. 1/2 bunch)
    1 pound Geman spaetzle
    10 oz. pkg. fresh baby spinach

Tips

I usually let the broth base (with the bones & skin) cook longer to absorb more of the flavor.
Sometimes I will double the ingredients for the chicken soup, minus the noodles and spinach, then spoon out half of the mixture and store in the freezer for another day. Then all you have to do is heat the stored chicken base and add other ingredients that you like - we enjoy a mixture of brown and wild rice and add a can of cream of mushroom soup - yum!


Directions

Separate the chicken pieces and remove the meat (minus bones, skin & hard parts). Break the meat up into small pieces then cover and refrigerate. Use the remaining chicken pieces (bones, skin, ...) in soup pot and top with 6 cups of water. Cook on medium heat for 1 hour, until the chicken carcass makes a nice broth. Strain the parts out of the broth and discard. This is your chicken broth base.
Add the chicken pieces, broth, pepper, garlic powder, salt, onions, celery, carrots and parsley. Cook for 20 or so minutes on medium heat, until the vegetables are soft.
Bring the heat up to high to bring to a full boil. Add the spaetzle and cook 20 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure all spaetzle is cooked evenly. Tear the baby spinach leaves and add to the soup mixture.
Serve immediately.

Note: If you want to make the soup ahead of time, do not add the spaetzle or spinach until getting ready to serve so they don't become soggy.


Serving Size: Makes 12 healthy bowls of soup