One More Dinner Before I Go

Chicken soup with thick egg noodles.
Impossible not to like.
Great for a fall. Great for the freezer. Great for James to heat up for dinner while I am gone.
I always start the same way, with a whole chicken and chicken parts, one onion (not peeled, sliced in half), 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, a whole head of garlic sliced through the middle, 2 bay leaves, about 10 peppercorns and a handful of fresh thyme (or parsley if that's all I have) all covered in water. Sometimes if I am feeling adventurous or cleaning the fridge I might add in a turnip or asparagus stalks other trims but carrots, celery, onion and garlic are the basic go to list. I bring everything up to a boil and then simmer for about 90 minutes. That's great chicken stock with plenty of flavor.
I strain the stock and let the cooked chicken cool and start on the soup. Later I'll shred the chicken to add to the pot.
Today I decided on an old fashioned slightly thickened Southern style soup. I started with around 3 TB of butter and added in chopped celery, peeled and sliced carrots (about 2 cups each), and 1 chopped onion and let the vegetables cook until just soft. Then I tossed in two cloves of chopped garlic. After 30 seconds or so I added about 4 TB of flour and let it cook in the butter and coat the vegetables for about 2 minutes so it was just golden colored and the vegetables were coated. Then in goes the strained stock, a dash of hot sauce, a splash of worchestershire sauce, a bay leaf and S&P and everything comes up to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Sometimes I'll add chopped potatoes and let them simmer along with the stock.
If I am ready to serve James his soup I'll keep going and add in the chicken I deboned and shredded, plenty of chopped parsley and a package of egg noodles. I always add too many noodles and the soup become more of a stew but James never complains. After another 10 minutes I add in frozen peas (when I have them) or corn kernels because James loves them and a handful of chopped fresh dill. Though I am not usually a big dill fan it does something wonderful to perk up the flavor of chicken soup. 5-8 minutes later our soup is ready to ladle into bowls. Sometimes just before serving I'll squeeze in half a lemon for an extra note of brightness.
Homey supper for an early fall night.