a cure for the common cold...

Well, winter has decided to stop screwing around and show her ugly face in Missouri. Coincidentally, I also caught my first cold. After peeling myself off the couch I decided the only thing that would make me feel better was chicken noodle soup. When I'm sick, I pretty much consume my weight in chicken noodle soup... it's a family cure. I also dip peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my chicken noodle soup (it's actually the only way I eat peanut butter and jelly). Please note, I've never claimed to be normal. Now, I KNEW it would be quicker, cheaper, and less painful to just buy a can of soup and go back to being a pathetic lump on the couch, but I'm too stubborn for that business. So, I mustered up enough strength to head to the store and get the ingredients I needed to MAKE soup.

Let's just note...I'm a baker. I mean, I can cook a mean meal, but baking is my comfort zone. I've never made soup from scratch, so I turned to the infallible Pioneer Woman to see what soups she had fixed up. So because you can never go wrong with Ree, do yourself a favor and when you catch your first cold this winter make this, love this, thank God for this, and heck, hook it up to an IV and absorb it... it's that wonderful.
*Just a few notes:
-for some odd reason my grocery store did not have white pepper anywhere, and I randomly found it in a pepper mill for some stupid amount of money (but I bought it anyway because I figure it'll last forever).
-even though I diced up my veggies real small and super uniform they took FOREVER to cook. I'd say I cooked them probably and extra 40 mins or so after eating the first bowl and realizing the veggies were still crunchy.
-also, I'd add more salt, and I'm not a salt person... but then again I'm also sick and my taste buds are WAY outtawhack.

Homemade Chicken and Noodles from The Pioneer Woman [try it with a PB&J :) ]

• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
• 2 whole Carrots, Diced
• 2 stalks Celery, Diced
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Diced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Turmeric
• ¼ teaspoons White Pepper (more To Taste)
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Thyme
• 2 teaspoons Parsley Flakes
• 16 ounces, weight Frozen Reames "homemade" Egg Noodles (available in the frozen food section)
  
• 3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.

Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached.

Add the carrots and celery (and onions, if using) to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.

Increase heat and add frozen egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.