Not as good as Moms Soup, but it'll do

There is nothing better than homemade chicken soup when your sick or on that one cold day if you live in Florida! I had to try this receipe twice because I screwed up big time the first time I made it. Trial and error, right! So before I go any further : "DO NOT USE CAMBPELLS BROTH!"

Okay, so here's my easy, simple, and fairly cheap receipe for yummy homemade chicken soup! Since I don't normaly cook, I did not have all these veggies in my fridge so I did have to go out and buy those, but no biggie they weren't that expensive. I have tons of pasta so that came cheap.

1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs (I picked up an already cooked one from Publix, saved me time!)

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 quarts chicken broth (SWANSON SAVED MY LIFE)

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, (Stars or Alphabets, please! :)

2 cups frozen sweet peas, thawed (I didn't use them I don't like me peas!)

Directions:

If you don't cheat and buy the chicken already roasted then continue to the next paragraph!

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, 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.