Blending vegetables and chopping chicken are the secrets to my chicken vegetable soup.

• 1 fryer
• 3 large carrots, peeled
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 large onions
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 T chicken soup base (optional)
• 8 oz. kluski (egg) noodles

First, put the fryer in a large stock pot and cover with water. Cut the carrots, celery, and onions into pieces just small enough to fit into your food chopper or blender. Chop the garlic into small bits. Add the bay leaf (broken in half), salt, pepper, and soup base. Bring to a boil, cover,and then simmer for at least an hour, or until the chicken is done.

Then turn down the heat. Remove the fryer from the stockpot and place in a shallow pan to cool. It will cool faster if you break apart the fryer (if needed – it may fall apart on its own). Strain out the large vegetable chunks. Using your vegetable chopper or blender, blend the vegetables. You can leave a few bits of carrot unblended if you like the color. Remove the bay leaf. When all the vegetables are blended, return to the chicken pot and let it simmer on low. I like to puree the vegetables so they add color and flavor but are less likely to be seen – the carrots especially add a golden hue to the soup.

When the fryer has cooled, bone it. You can cook the egg noodles at the same time. Bring the pot of chicken broth to a gentle boil and stir in the noodles. If you use actual kluski noodles, they will require at least 20-30 minutes to cook. This will give you time to chop the chicken.

Remove all fat, skin, bones, and gristle from the meat. I usually use a cutting board to remove meat portions. When my cutting board is half full, I use a large knife and chop the pieces of meat into bits no larger than 1/2 inch square. When that portion is chopped, I add it to the soup and then repeat these steps until all of the fryer is boned.

Let the soup simmer until the noodles are done. Serve hot.