Best Ever Chicken Noodle Soup And Our Watch Dogs

With Bev in Florida, Cindy and me are trying to have leftover soup in the fridge for ready lunches and since the last of our vegetable soup is now gone it was time for another soup. When Cindy made the Creamy Chicken Stew a short while ago, I posted that the broth would be our go-to for future chicken broth dishes and this chicken noodle soup is the first one.  The following recipe is a combination of the chicken stew and my dad’s chicken noodle soup which are similar except for chicken preparation.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Giblets, celery, and onion for basting broth

Celery to bake the chicken

1 chicken, 5-6 lbs.

2 tbsp soft butter

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 cup diced celery plus 3 stocks

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup diced carrot

2 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup all-purpose flour - see verdict

2½ qt our homemade chicken broth 

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

½ tsp dried rosemary leaves

½ tsp dried poultry seasoning

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp dried sage leaves

12 oz frozen peas

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup heavy cream - see verdict

2 tbsp chopped parsley

14 oz medium egg noodles (or your choice of pasta)

Instructions:

For the basting broth, remove the giblets from the chicken cavity and add to a small pan with 3-4 cups water, a stalk of diced celery, ¼ cup diced onion, S&P to taste and cook for 45 minutes (we gave the giblets to the pups but you can dice and add them to the broth).

For the chicken, add two stocks celery pieces to the cavity. Add a tbsp of salted butter under the skin on each side of the breast and thigh (you could also mix herbs with the butter).  Rub the skin with butter and season with S&P.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Add ½ cup of the basting broth to a roasting pan (See Cindy's pan below).

Add the chicken to the roasting pan with a rack in the bottom, cover and cook 45 min covered.

Remove lid, reduce oven to 350F and cook another 45 minutes or until breast temp is 155F.

Every 15 minutes during roasting, baste the chicken with the giblet broth.

Remove the chicken from the dish and set aside until cool enough to handle.

To an 8 qt stock pot, add the diced onion, celery, carrots, and 2 tbsp. butter and cook until the onions are translucent and the vegetables begin to soften, 4-5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for one minute to coat the vegetables and form the base for the creamy broth.

Pour in the chicken broth, the rest of the giblet broth (with the veggies), and the juice from the roasting pan.

Add thyme, rosemary, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and sage. Stir well and lift any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender enough to be pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile cook the noodles per package directions and drain.

Add the noodles, cooked chicken, and peas to the pot.

Then stir in the Parmesan and heavy cream.

Simmer for another few minutes, just until everything is warmed through and the broth turns rich and creamy.

Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

I like my soup to be hearty but this was a little too much so so I added another pint of broth to the recipe above.  You can add even more if you prefer yours soupier.

Cindy has this unique, 80 year old cast aluminum Wagner Drip Drop Baster that is perfect for roasting a chicken (unless you want crispy skin).  It works because the ridges on the lid cause the moisture that collects in the lid to drop back on the food rather than run down the lid and the sides of the pan.  Her parents got the pan as a wedding present.

The Verdict:

This was without a doubt, very best chicken soup of any kind that I’ve ever eaten and I would not change one thing except the flour and cream.  One of the keys was in how Cindy cooked the chicken and the other was all of the very flavorful broths we used.  It was supposed to be creamy but the amount of flour and cream we added had very little impact.  If you want a thickened and/or creamier soup, more flour and/or cream will be required and I may try that next time or I think it can just be left out.

As an added bonus, I cooked the carcass with water to make a rich broth for the pups.

The Watch Dogs

Teddy Bear and Romeo like to lay on their table and look out the window so they don't miss anything and so they can bark anytime a car goes by.

These little plastic steps are perfect for the dogs and we have a double set of them going up to our bed.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/18/25 event dates