Great Grandmom Kate’s Super Easy Chicken Soup Recipe

So my 4-year-old has had a fever for the last few days, my wife isn't feeling great either, and it's soup season. So let's make my great Grandmom Kate's chicken soup.

Sidebar: Ranking seasons, it goes football season, Christmas season, soup season, wedding season!

Three of those four seasons overlap so it's quite a time of year right now. But seeing it's soup season and I've got 2 sick people in the house I decided to whip up my great grandmom Kate's chicken soup recipe that has been passed down since before she immigrated to the US from Ireland. She was born in 1901 so, it's been around for a while now. Super simple, 5 ingredients.

Whole roasting chicken (available at all supermarkets)

8-10 large carrots

1 whole stalk of celery

Chicken broth

salt

pepper

rice or egg noodles

Take a large pot and put the chicken in the pot (make sure the pot is big enough because it'll overflow if not.) Pour the chicken broth over the chicken until it is completely submerged. 3-4 large 48oz boxes of chicken broth usually is enough. Peel and chop all carrots. Cut off the top and bottom of the celery stalk so you're left with the celery hearts. Cut 'em up! Add carrots and celery to the pot. Add fresh cracked pepper, I just eyeball this. No real measurement. Boil ingredients on high for an hour and 20 minutes.

Check to make sure the chicken is at least 165 degrees. Remove the chicken, peel, and toss the skin. Pull the meat apart and add the chicken back into the pot with the broth and veggies (maybe wait a couple of minutes to let the chicken cool down before you start to pull the meat apart.) Add salt to taste. More pepper if needed. Cook rice or egg noodles per their own directions. Serve soup over rice or noodles and get yourself some crusty bread for dipping.

It seems like a lot more words than steps to make this delicious chicken soup. Depending on the size of your family, you're also going to have leftovers. Just toss a bowl in the microwave and it's almost as good as the day before. Good luck!

Enjoy Grandmom Kate's Chicken Soup because, as my brother said recently, "No one has ever put chicken, rice, celery, and carrots together..."

If you're like my family, pumpkin pie is one of your favorite parts of Thanksgiving. While pumpkin pie comes in many forms from the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew at Starbucks to the holiday pie at McDonalds, for us, good old-fashioned fresh-baked pumpkin pie is the best.

This year, we're going to bake a pumpkin pie from a recipe instead of our usual tradition of getting a pie already baked from the grocery store.

Here are three original recipes for our favorite Thursday.

Our first recipe comes from the folks at McCormick. Called "Classic Pumpkin Pie" here is what you need to make eight servings

Pastry for 9-inch pie crust
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 teaspoon McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Instructions: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 9-inch pie plate with pie crust. Mix eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, flour and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in pumpkin and vanilla. Gradually add evaporated milk, mixing well. Pour into pie crust. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold. Garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice, if desired. Store covered in refrigerator.

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk or half and half
2 eggs, beaten
1 Pillsbury Pet-Ritz frozen deep-dish pie crust

Directions: Heat oven to 425°F. In large bowl, mix filling ingredients. Pour into pie crust. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 40 to 50 minutes longer or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate until serving time. Store in refrigerator.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13711/homemade-fresh-pumpkin-pie/

All Recipes takes a bit more time with their recipe.

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie:
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
3 ½ tablespoons cold water

Filling:
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and salt. Cut shortening into flour; add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time (you may need only 3 tablespoons, or up to 4 tablespoons). Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together.
With lightly floured, hands shape dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness. With a sharp knife, cut dough 1 1/2 inch larger than the upside-down 8- to 9-inch pie pan. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it right-side up onto the pie pan. Unroll, easing dough into the bottom of the pie pan.
In a large bowl, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt with an electric mixer or immersion blender. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.