Like many others this holiday season, my family was visited by an un welcomed, stubborn virus, who thought she would make us all miserable. Chicken soup is always a good weapon to help shoo away these visitors! Through my searching for a new recipe I came across this one.  It has a two step method, but it is worth the little extra work. I have a picky eater in my family and he LOVED this soup.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

HEALTHY HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2 lb) whole chicken
3 quarts low sodium chicken broth
6 carrots
4 stalks celery (ends trimmed)
3 medium onion (peeled)
5 black peppercorns
1 clove(s) garlic (crushed)
10 sprigs parsley (I used dried parsley and just estimated)
2 sprigs thyme (I used dried thyme)
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 leeks (tops and root ends removed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
3 cups (5 ounces) medium egg noodles

Directions
Make the stock –  Place the chicken and chicken broth in a large stockpot and set it over medium heat. Roughly chop 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, and 1 onion and add to the broth. Add the peppercorns, garlic, 2 sprigs of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and enough water to just simmer, and cook until the chicken is very tender — about 1 1/4 hours — skimming the surface periodically.  Remove the chicken and place in a large bowl. Strain the broth through a very fine sieve (I just used a metal strainer) into a large, clean bowl or stockpot. Discard the vegetables.

Make the soup – Skim any fat of the top of the strained broth and discard. Slice the remaining carrots, celery, onions, and leeks into 1/4 inch thick pieces and set aside. Remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken, cut meat into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside. Chop the remaining parsley leaves and set aside. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until the onions are translucent–about 7 minutes. Add the chicken, the reserved broth, salt and pepper. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender–about 1 hour. Stir in the egg noodles and parsley and cook until the noodles are tender–about 10 more minutes. Serve hot with remaining parsley on top. ENJOY!!!