Yes, you read that right. We’re making a homemade version of chicken and stars soup. Believe it or not, it’s not even hard! Time consuming and tedious, yes…but not hard. With just a little patience and time, you can have a killer meal that will impress taste buds and eyeballs alike.

Something about chicken noodle soup — in any form — is so comforting. It reminds me of those days as I child when I didn’t feel well and my mother would give me a can of the stuff. This version is a bit elevated from that tin-can memory, and a lot healthier, but it still evokes the same fond memories. The next time a loved one is sick, try fixing them this homemade chicken soup instead of popping a top of pre-made — star and heart shaped noodles are optional, but encouraged.

This is a time consuming task, so if you are crunched for time make it easier for yourself by fixing the base soup (sans noodles) the day before, refrigerate overnight, and make and add the noodles the next day. Alternatively you could also make the base soup in the crock pot in the morning and make and add the noodles for lunch or supper. Yet another option is to make the pasta dough ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to roll and cut. The most time consuming part is cutting out the shapes; if that part is too tedious for you, just cut normal noodles through your pasta machine or by hand.

As for me…the stars and hearts make me happy. Tiny cutters make me happy, too. There, I said it. I made this soup mostly just because it’s fun. It’s like soup confetti! (I am one of those weirdos who thinks making food is fun.)

The stars at night are big and bright…deep in my bowl of soup.

Here’s the Recipe:

Homemade Chicken and Stars Soup

Tools:

Pasta machine (recommend but not strictly necessary)

Rolling pin

Tiny cutters in your desired shape

Large work area/surface

Stock pot

Knife

Ingredients:

Soup Base

5-7 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 can green beans, drained

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

4-5 chicken thighs

3 cloves garlic

Fresh herbs – thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano (optional)

1 tsp fish sauce (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

water

1 tblspn grassfed gelatin

Noodles

1 cup all purpose flour

generous pinch of salt

2 eggs

Instructions:

Heat a pot of approximately 3 quarts of water to a slow boil. (This will reduce quite a bit over the process of making the soup. If it gets too dry, add either more water or some chicken broth.) Add the chicken thighs, herbs, and salt to taste.

Saute the chopped onions in a bit of butter in a skillet until soft and golden. Add onion, garlic, and carrots to the broth.

While the chicken is cooking, begin making the pasta. Place the flour on a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Add salt. Crack one egg into well and begin mixing with a fork. When the egg is mostly incorporated make another well and add the second egg. Once egg is mixed in, begin working the dough with floured finger tips until fully mixed, then begin kneading with hands for a couple of minutes until smooth. If dough feels sticky or tacky, knead in more flour. If the dough is absolutely too dry add a touch of water. However, pasta dough is a dry, stiff dough — only add water if dough is crumbly and not coming together.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes.

Once chicken is done, reduce heat to simmer and remove herb stalks and chicken from pot with  a pair of tongs. Once chicken is cool enough to touch, shred or chop into small, bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to broth. Discard herbs. Add green beans.

Cut the pasta dough in half to make it easier to work with. Roll each half out into a rectangular shape and begin to pass through your pasta machine. (You can do this portion by hand, if desired.) Start at the widest setting of your machine and work up slowly to your desired thickness. I took my pasta to a thickness of 7. Keep the dough well floured to prevent sticking.

Once the pasta is rolled out to your desired thinness, lay out on a flat surface and begin to cut out your shapes. I did stars and hearts for mine. This part is tedious and time consuming, but the end result is worth it! If you don’t have tiny cutters, you can also simply make normal noodles.

Be sure to taste your broth at this stage before adding the noodles. Adjust salt and seasoning as necessary. I like to add fish sauce to mine at this stage — it really brings out a depth of savory flavor and does not make it fishy at all. (I sneak fish sauce into a ton of savory, non-fish dishes!) Once the broth is up to your liking, bring back up to a boil and add the pasta. The noodles will be cooked in 2-4 minutes.

Optional: I bloomed a tablespoon of grass fed beef gelatin in cold water and then added to the soup at the end of cooking to add more healthy collagen. It does not affect flavor, and the soup will remain “soupy” when warm, although it will gel when stored in the fridge. It will return to liquid again when reheated.

This soup is versatile and vegetables can easily be subbed out for whatever veggies you like in your soup. This can also easily be made almost entirely from your own homestead using your own homegrown eggs, chicken, and veggies! For this batch everything but the eggs were store bought, but it would be easy to transition it.

Makes about 2 quarts of soup.

Cheers