The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup

I had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving so I used that in this recipe instead of chicken.  Paula Deen's recipe received numerous rave reviews on the web so I knew this would be a good soup recipe to try.  I had my own stock so I did not use the recipe for the stock below.  The turkey stock recipe I used is posted on this blog.  You could also used purchased stock if you do not wish to make your own.  I will definitely make this soup again.  It tastes so good on a cold Wisconsin winter day!

Stock:

1 (2 1/2 - 3 pound) fryer chicken, cut up
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 to 2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 1/2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
1 medium onion, chopped (my addition)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (my addition)
2 tsp chicken base or bouillon (my addition) 
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup sherry
1 tsp dried rosemary (or 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves)
1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
2 cups green peas (my addition) 
Seasoning salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot.  Cook until chicken is tender, about 35-45 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.  Set chicken aside.

For the soup:  bring the 3 quarts (12 cups) of stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes.  Add celery and onion and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package.  **( I did not add my noodles to the pot.  I cooked them in a separate pot). When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, base or bouillon, parsley, sherry and rosemary.  Slowly, add the Parmesan a little bit at a time so it doesn't clump.  Add cream and peas.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and  pepper.

Enjoy with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

You may also serve the Parmesan on top of the soup instead of mixing it in.

Source:   Food Network.com - Paula Deen

Eileen