Chicken Noodle Soup

The other day, I wasn't feeling well and I got to craving some good old fashioned chicken noodle soup. I had bought a whole chicken to roast and carve to make chicken and rice casseroles, so I knew it would be the perfect time. I boiled the carcass for broth, threw in some veggies, barley, and noodles and voila - a delicious, hearty, warm soup!

Chicken Noodle Soup
The carcass of one chicken
Water
1 onion, quartered
Salt, to taste
Poultry seasoning, to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 carrots, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, sliced (if desired)
1-2 cups cooked chicken
Salt, to taste
Thyme, to taste
Chicken bouillon, optional (only if you find your broth doesn't have enough flavor)
Bay leaf
1/3 cup barley
1 1/2 cup wide egg noodles

1. Place the carcass from your chicken in a large stock pot. Cover with water (about 8-10 cups). Season with salt and throw in quartered onion. Boil for 45 minutes to one hour. Drain, removing bones and onion and reserving broth. **If you don't have a chicken carcass, or you don't want to do this, you can just use 8 cups of premade chicken broth.


2. Return broth to pot. Add veggies, chicken, barley, and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes-1 hour, until veggies and barley are soft. Taste, season further, if necessary. I found that my broth wasn't as flavorful as I would like, so I just added a quick sprinkle of bullion to boost the flavor.

3. Once veggies and barley are tender, add egg noodles and continue simmering for 10-15 minutes, until noodles are cooked.

Serve with warm toast or crackers. Later this week, I'm going to give SnoWhite's wheat crackers a try. Enjoy.

Makes 10-12 servings.

This recipe is being linked at Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, and The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.