Crock-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

I have been making this recipe for years now, and every time, I'm so excited to sit down and eat it, I forget to take a picture and blog about it.  (Full disclosure - I've actually never made this recipe.  My husband has made it every single time and it is fabulous.)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Just as it was meant to be

And not from a can

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 4 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 4 tsp)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts
• 2 cups cooked egg noodles
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Melt butter in heavy pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until skin is deep golden brown, about 8 minutes.  Transfer thighs to crock pot.
2. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat from pan.  Add carrots, celery, and onions to now-empty pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup broth to pan and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon.  Transfer vegetable mixture, bay leaves, and remaining broth to crock pot.
3. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and wrap in foil (make a foil packet around each breast).  Place foil packets in crock pot.  Cover and cook on low until breasts are cooked through and thighs are tender, 4 - 4 1/2 hours.
4. Remove foil packet from crock pot.  Carefully open foil and transfer chicken breasts to plate.  Remove chicken thighs from crock pot and transfer to plate.  When cool enough to handle, shred meat into bite-size pieces, discarding skin, bones, and excess fat.
5. Stir shredded chicken, cooked noodles, peas, and parsley into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Discard bay leaves.  Serve.

Usually I refrain from adding the noodles to the soup.  I pack up a third of the soup and freeze it, and the rest we eat for lunch over a couple of days.  I have poured this soup over noodles, over rice, and even over mashed potatoes.  All possibilities if you don't cook and add the noodles to begin with.

I asked my husband if there were any other little changes that he makes and he said no.  The recipe is perfect.  Make it this autumn and let me know what you think!  It is well worth the planning.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, Winter 2010.