homemade chicken soup

This is for Amanda who always told me she would learn to make this before she left home.  She has left home a couple times now-and now she will have this in writing!  I love thinking something I make will get passed down to the next generation.

Wash a whole chicken and put in your biggest soup pot.  Add a cup of chopped celery and a cup of chopped onion.  Add a tablespoon of salt, a teaspoon of pepper and a couple tablespoons of poultry seasoning.  Bring to a boil and keep the water level just above the bird.  3-4 hours later it will begin to fall apart and your house will smell amazing.  From here you can take it to all sorts of varieties- tortilla soup, enchilada soup, chicken rice soup, chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings. 

For now- let it cool a bit, remove all the chicken into a large bowl with a slotted spoon and if you aren’t sure you got all the bones, strain through colander into another pan.  Once the chicken cools enough to handle, clean from the bone- remove skin, bones, etc.   You can reserve some of this chicken for tacos,  chicken salad, sandwiches, wraps, and put the rest back into the broth.  Now decide what you want to add.  We’ll put in frozen mixed vegies, sliced up carrots and noodles.  As soon as the noodles are done cooking- about 12 minutes, you are ready to serve. 

• one whole chicken
• on large onion and 3-4 stalks of celery
• salt and pepper to taste
• poultry seasoning
• frozen mixed vegies
• 5-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups egg noodles, macaroni, pasta