Change in the air...

I know it's fall when three things happen. The fresh local apples show up at the grocery store and are incredibly crisp. Pumpkin recipes are everywhere online. And I have the urge to make chicken noodle soup. This last weekend I did two of those three.

There's just something about homemade chicken noodle soup. I don't know if it's the flavor of the broth, the big chunks of everything that's in there, or the distinct lack of saltiness that I usually find in the canned stuff. I do know that it makes the whole house smell AMAZING! I mean, when you have a chicken broth make that looks like this...

you know that it will taste the best.

Then there's everything else that goes into it. It's surprisingly easy.

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup
1 whole chicken
3 cans of chicken broth
2-3 cups of water (enough to cover it in the pot)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 whole bay leaves
cracked black pepper
pinch of salt
2 medium onions
1 lb carrots
1 stalk celery
24 ounce bag of thick egg noodles (I like the Kluski brand)

In a four quart stock pot, heat olive oil on medium high and then add the garlic. Once that has darkened slightly, place whole chicken on top of it breast side down until just browned. Flip the chicken so it's breast side up. (I also add a few chicken tenders or a couple of chicken breasts as I always have requests for more meat in recipes.) Let it brown for a minute or two and then add the chicken broth. If the meat is not covered, add enough water to just cover the chicken. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper and salt. Bring to slow boil and turn down heat and let it boil for an hour and a half.

While the chicken is boiling, cut up the onion, celery and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Don't make them too small or you'll made chicken mush instead of soup.
After the chicken has cooked, strain the broth through a colander and set the chicken aside to cool for a bit. Pour the broth back into the pot and add all of the vegetables. Again bring it to a slow boil and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
When the chicken has cooled enough to handle with your bare hands, remove the skin and shred it or cube it into one inch pieces. Add it back into the pot when the vegetables are just cooked. Let the whole thing simmer on the stove until you are ready to eat.
In a separate pot, boil the water to cook the egg noodles per the directions. Serve the soup over the noddles in each bowel.

Serves 6

I also made a chocolate chip pumpkin cake that always seems to go over well. Um!