Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 cups carrots, cut into coins
1 1/4 cups sliced celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup frozen pearl onions
6 cups unsalted chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 package no-yolk egg noodle, cooked

Instructions:

Place chicken breasts into crockpot. Add carrots, celery, garlic, and onions.

Pour the chicken stock over the chicken and vegetables.

Add bay leaves and salt & pepper.

Combine the thyme, rosemary, and celery seed in the palm of your hand. As you sprinkle the seasonings into the soup, crush them between your fingers. This helps release the flavors of the seasonings.

Give the soup a bit of a mix and cover. Cook on low for 5 1/2 hours. Remove chicken and let sit on a platter for about 5-10 minutes. You want it to cool a few minutes so when you cut the chicken into bite sized pieces it doesn't just shred.

After cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces, return the chicken to the crockot and let cook another 30 - 60 minutes or until your carrots and celery are tender but still have a bit crisp. I like the vegetables in my soup to be a fork-tender but not mushy.

To serve: place a handful of egg noodles in a bowl and ladle soup over. Enjoy with crackers or as is.
If you desire to, you can add the egg noodles to the crockpot the last 15 minutes of cooking time to reheat them. I will do this if I know there will not be leftovers (when I am feeling more than my family of 4). The noodles well soak up the broth too much otherwise.