Chicken Noodle Soup

As part of my New Year’s Resolution’s I was supposed to start cooking from the Cooking Light recipe book and try to stay away from Paula Deen.  It’s just not happening.  It’s Paula Deen all the way.  The recipe below is what I use when we are in the mood for Chicken Noodle Soup.  It’s good for what ails you and delicious.

The Lady’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4   bay leaves
3   chicken bouillon cubes
1   onion, peeled and diced
1   tsp Paula Deen Lemon Pepper Seasoning
3   cloves garlic, minced
1   2 1/2 to 3-pound fryer (chicken) or 4 chicken breasts, cut up
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 1/2 quart water
kosher salt and pepper to taste
For Step 2:
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
1/3 cup cooking sherry ( I don’t use this)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I don’t use this)
Fresh parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (I don’t use this)
Paula Deen Seasoned Salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
crusty french bread or crackers, for serving

Directions:

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage if you used a whole chicken.  Set chicken aside. 
For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate