First I remove the giblets from the chicken and throw them away. Now I wash the chicken and put my whole chicken in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Now fill the 8 quart pot with 1/3 water and put on a large burner at medium heat to bring to a simmer or slow boil. (I like to use my Brita water filter for my water).
While the water is heating up I wash and peel my carrots and then chop them on a cutting board and then add them to the pot.
This is when I add my spices.
Wash and chop your celery and add to the pot.
Wash and chop your onion and add to the pot.
Wash and chop your mushrooms and add to the pot.
Now your pot should be at a slow boil while you're waiting for you whole chicken to finish baking. Stir your pot once in a while.
When the whole chicken is done add the whole chicken to the pot.
Now cook for 1 hour at a slow boil or simmer with the lid on or off. If the lid is on remember you have to use a lower temperature or it will boil to much.
This is when I do some clean up so I don't have to do it all at the end.
Now I like to cook 3 chicken breasts for 20 minutes to add to the soup later.
After an hour or so I carefully remove the whole chicken from the pot and put it on a plate to cool.
Now I chop the cooked chicken breasts and add them to the pot as the whole chicken is cooling.
Now I strip the meat off the whole chicken and add it to the pot. I also like to break some large bones in half and put them back in the pot too. Cut the bones a little with a knife because it makes them easy to break in half.
Next I add my chopped spinach.
Next when the pot is back to a slow boil I add my noodles and cook for 10 minutes. You have to push the noodles down a little to get them in. And it must be boiling.
As your noodles are cooking I prepare my sealable bowls by filling them with 1/3 water.
After 10 minutes when the noodles are done I fill the bowls with the chicken soup and let them sit to cool before freezing them. Do not fill completely leave a little room for freezing.
Now that I freed up some more space in the pot I add some more water so that it's not that thick. usually around 46 oz. or 6 cups of water.
Average cooking time from start to finish is around 3 hours. Makes around 20 ten ounce bowls. The leftovers can be put into a smaller pot and placed in the refrigerator to eat later.
