Favorite Chicken Noodle Soup

It has FINALLY started to cool off here in the desert.  I made this pot of chicken noodle soup (based on a recipe I found on Pinterest, original here) last week and loved how it came out so much I made it again last night.  It's gone into my permanent file and will be my go-to recipe for chicken noodle soup from now on.

Favorite Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium carrots, cut into ¾ inch lengths
3 large stalks celery, cut into ½ inch lengths
3 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 whole bay leaf
10-15 cranks cracked pepper
32oz box chicken broth
salt to taste
7 oz. egg noodles

Directions:

1. Cook onion and garlic in a large pot over medium heat with 2 Tbsp of olive oil for a few minutes, until the onions start to turn translucent.

2. Add the carrots and celery to the pot and continue to sauté.

3. Add the chicken thighs to the pot along with the bay leaf, basil, parsley, thyme, and black pepper. Add four cups of water and the chicken broth. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour. Make sure the pot continues to simmer for the whole hour. If the heat is turned down too low and it is not bubbling, the chicken will not shred easily.

4. After an hour of simmering, remove the chicken from the pot. Using two forks, shred it slightly. Season the broth with salt. I use about two teaspoons, but you may like more or less. Start with one teaspoon and work your way up from there.

5. Add the noodles to the pot, turn the heat up to high, and boil the noodles until tender (about 7 minutes). Return the shredded chicken to the pot. You may add up to two more cups of water if needed to account for evaporation and absorption from the noodles. I didn’t because I like a chunkier soup.

6. Serve hot with slices of French bread or rolls.