Mmmmm Soup

Made two gallons of chicken noodle soup yesterday and today and it is really good (having some for dinner right now).

Took three Costco rotisserie chickens and boiled them in some water for a couple hours yesterday. Tossed in a couple onions quartered with skin on, a small handful of whole black peppercorns and a dozen bay leaves into the mix. Strained everything out into some containers and put them in the fridge overnight. This morning, all the fat and yuk had congealed on the surface so I removed that, chopped up some onions, carrots and celery and mixed in the chicken meat. Boiled for 30 minutes and then put in four pounds of Costco egg noodles -- really thick and boiled for another 15 minutes.

People out in front were asking what we were making as the scent of chicken was pervading the air. Smelled really good. This will last us maybe three or four days as we sell a lot of soup. We also have a Thai curried carrot vegan soup as well as the end of a chicken tortilla and black bean soup. I'll be doing another batch of the navy bean and ham for mid-week.

Also up this week is starting the takeout dinners. The bakers are done by 10AM or so and there is this big convection oven sitting there -- we keep it running to warm sandwiches and to bake our cheesy bread buns as well as roasting veggies for our wraps.

I'll be doing pot pies, meatloaf, lentil loaf, lasagna, etc... freeze them and then offer them for sale. The customer takes them home, puts them in a toaster oven for 30 minutes and there is a home-cooked meal.