Healthy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 quarts chicken broth

4 large carrots, roughly chopped

4 stalks celery, roughly chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups cooked small shape pasta, (I use barilla plus)

1.5 cups frozen sweet peas, thawed

1 T lemon juice
Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Start by roasting a whole chicken, rubbed completely with canola oil, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 400 degrees F. Let the chicken cool enough so that you can handle it, then peel off all skin, discard it, and cut the chicken meat into bite sized pieces.

In a large stock pot, combine the chicken bones with 2 quarts of good quality chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the bones from the broth with a slotted spoon. Discard them.

Now, to that pot of stock, add carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh thyme. Let this simmer for 30 minutes, until the veggies are soft. Add all of the chicken meat to the pot and stir to combine. Simmer for an additional and final 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Stir in cooked pasta and peas and serve.

Pic and recipe credit belong to http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/03/12/healthy-homemade-chicken-noodle-soup/

Serving Size: Makes 5 servings

Number of Servings: 5

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BEAKIEBEAN.