Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

Although the weather here has been unseasonably warm the past few days, fall is an ideal time to make a big pot of soup or stew for dinner. Hearty and healthy chicken noodle is a simple, easy, and delicious dinner that makes plenty of leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

Ingredients
1 3.5- to 4-pound chicken, cut up, or 2.5 pounds meaty chicken pieces
8 c. water
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 bay leaf
1 c. chopped carrot (2 medium)
1 c. chopped celery (2 stalks)
1.5 c. dried egg noodles
2 T. snipped fresh parsley

Step 1. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven combine chicken, water, onion, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for approx. 1.5 hours or until chicken is tender.
Step 2. Remove chicken from broth. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and cut into bit-size pieces. Set chicken aside. Discard the bay leaf and skim fat from broth.
Step 3. Bring broth to boiling. Stir in carrot and celery. Simmer, covered, for approx. 5 minutes. Stir in noodles and simmer, covered, for approx. 5 minutes more until the noodles are tender, but still firm. Stir in chicken and parsley and heat through.

Each time I've made this I've used a whole chicken and cutting it up myself, and each time I swear I'm going to buy chicken parts next time. I hate cutting the chicken apart, but my frugality wins out every time when I see how much cheaper whole chicken is per pound. If you are going to cut up the chicken yourself, I recommend following the instructions in The Joy of Cooking.

I served this with the herb garlic baguettes (recipe in previous post). Enjoy!