Chicken Noodle Soup

there is nothing quite like chicken noodle soup for comfort food.  i got this recipe from my bf of 16 years (i can't believe its been that long! i have known and loved LJ for more than half my life).
she gave me some of this soup as a take home last time i visited her and her adorable kids.

how cute are they?

anyway, E and i had some and we both liked it. quite the feat considering E is a campbell's chicken noodle soup purist. i asked for the recipe and she obliged. in her words:

I’m so glad that you loved it!  It’s my own concoction, so it’s fun to hear that other people like it too!  Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Whole Chicken (6-7lbs)

2 Onions

4 stalks Celery

1lb baby carrots

1 T. Poultry Season or more to taste

1 T. Salt or more to taste

1 t. Pepper or more to taste

2 extra large chicken bouillon cubes (or 4 small)

Parsley to taste (optional)

¾ lb Medium Egg Noodles

Directions:

1.       Take a VERY large soup pot and put in the chicken and cover by 2-3 inches with water
2.       My food processor does the tough work, I chop up all the veggies to the consistency I like, onions very fine, carrots and celery coarse
3.       Throw all ingredients in the pot, except the noodles, cover and cook until chicken is fully cooked, about 1-2 hours
4.       Remove chicken and drain, returning juices to pot, let cool until you can touch with fingers
5.       Remove skin and bones from chicken, tear chicken into large chunks and return chicken to pot
6.       Add noodles and cook 9 minutes or until just tender, serve and enjoy!

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i did make two small changes.

one, i used better than bouillon reduced sodium chicken base instead of bouillon cubs.

the other thing i did was cook the chicken with half the amount of celery, onions, and carrots according to step 3 and added a couple of thyme sprigs. afterwards, i pulled out the chicken and strained the broth. i let it sit overnight in the fridge so the fat would rise to the top and be easy to skim. the next morning, i skimmed the fat, added the chopped veggies, shredded chicken, and noodles and continued with step 6! i just wanted to get rid of the extra fat.

i highly recommend this recipe. its very easy and much better for you than canned. much less sodium!