Gina's Chicken Noodle Soup

To prepare the chicken and broth:

Make a bed on the bottom of your 5 quart crock pot of 1/2 of a large onion, and one celery stalk, both roughly chopped. Lay a 3-4 pound chicken on top. (skin removed--I know, yuck! I hate that job too) Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and fill nearly to the top with water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (I usually put it in at night before bed, then deal with it in the morning) When it's done, turn it off and allow to cool for a bit.

For everything else:

While you're waiting to dig into that chicken, sautee 1 large onion, 3 carrots and 2 stalks celery, all chopped, in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare 16 oz. of extra wide egg noodles according to package directions. After draining, add the cooled broth from the crock pot to the noodles and set aside.

Remove chicken from bones and tear into bite sized pieces. Reserve half of the meat for another meal, (yahoo!) throw your carcass back into the crock pot with a few more veggies and fill with water to make some more broth. Let it cook all day and then cool it and freeze in 2 cup portions. How economical is this turning out to be?!

Add the chicken and the sauteed veggies to your pot of noodles and broth, then season with salt and pepper to taste. You may need to add a little more liquid to have enough to actually call this soup. If so, you'll need to add some more salt, too. Serve with biscuits, crackers or our favorite: grilled cheese sandwiches.