We cook a whole chicken in a combination of store-bought chicken stock and water to get a jump-start on a flavorful and classic soup. For an extra-special treat, additional vegetables like parsnips or herbs, or even matzo balls could also be added just before the cooked and shredded chicken is added back to the pot. This is defintely a cold-weather favorite in our house!

We start by rinsing the chicken and the included innards in the sink, and putting the whole chicken and the small chicken parts included with it into a large pot. The only part we discard is the liver. We wash our hands well and the sink and surrounding area.

We cover the chicken in the pot with the stock and about 8 cups of water. We want the chicken just covered. We start heating it on the stove over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, we lower it to a bare simmer and skim the bubbles and foam to a plate with our “skimmer” while the chicken cooks. We add the salt and parsley stems and leave the soup to cook slowly while we chop the vegetables.

We clean the celery stalks with water and a paper towel and chop. This yields 1½ cups of celery. We rinse and then peel the carrots with our vegetable peeler. When we thinly slice them we have just over 2 cups of carrots. The onion is also rinsed and then it is halved, peeled, and thinly sliced. We have just under 2 cups of sliced onion. We set these aside while we continue to skim the soup. We want the chicken to cook in the pot for one hour and 15 minutes.

About an hour into the cooking of the chicken, a large pot of water is set on the stove and heated over high heat to cook the egg noodles.

When the chicken is cooked through, it is removed from the pot to a large bowl. We also remove and discard the innards and parsley stems. Into the pot of chicken stock, we add the cut celery, carrots, and onion and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, we remove the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. The chicken is torn into bite-size pieces with clean hands and set in another bowl.

When the water is boiling, we add the egg noodles, a pinch of salt, and cook according to the package directions. When tender, the egg noodles are drained in a colander and rinsed briefly so they do not clump. We make the entire package since our children love to eat lots of the noodles!

As soon as the vegetables are tender, the shredded chicken is added to the pot and cooked for a few minutes. We taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, and serve the soup with the egg noodles.

Leftover soup is refrigerated (or frozen) separately from the noodles so the noodles do not soften too much.

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