Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ok. So dont hate me. I know it's been a while since I posted but I've been really busy! I started a new job, I moved into a new apartment, and I have been enjoying the last of August! But it's September now, so back to posting (hopefully!)

Last month, my old housemate Karla was very very sick. I jumped at the opportunity to make my famous homemade chicken noodle soup! A lot of people get nervous about making homemade soup because they think it has to take all day to make. NOT SO! This soup doesn't take very long at all (not counting the time to cook the chicken) and you dont even have to precook the noodles!

Ingredients

2 tbsp of minced garlic, divided

2 chicken breasts

2 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil (just eyeball it! About 2 turns of the pan)

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 large carrots, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

2 48oz packages of chicken broth (about 1.5 cups separated)

1/2 package of extra wide egg noodles

Directions:

This first part is how I prefer to precook my chicken breasts. I promise you these will be the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you've ever made and you might not even want to put it into a soup it's that good! But if you dont want to do it this way, you can always cook your chicken another way ahead of time.

At least 4 hours before you serve (You could do this days ahead if you wanted to) place the chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot and season with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the garlic. Add the sprigs of thyme and rosemary (Throw the whole thing in there! Stems and all!) Pour the chicken broth over the chicken until the breasts are just covered (about 1.5 cups). Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2.5 hours or until no longer pink. Pull apart the chicken with a fork. 

In a large pot heat up the olive oil. When hot, saute the onion. When the onion is almost clear, add the remaining garlic, carrots, and celery and saute for about 5 minutes or the celery and carrots are tender. If you cooked your chicken another way, add the sprigs of thyme and rosemary with the garlic, celery, and carrots. 

Add the remaining chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Once the broth is boiling, add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions. 

Add the entire chicken mixture from the crockpot (rosemary, thyme, broth and all). Simmer for a few minutes more.

You can keep the sprigs in the soup (the leaves should have fallen off) to add more flavor as it sits, just make sure you dont serve them!

Let the deliciousness heal your body and soul!