This past weekend, I attended my first farmers market as a Seacoast Eat Local Intern, and I had so much fun! One component at the market that I loved was the smell of the broth from one of the vendors. The next day I went home and found an incredible soup recipe, and I thought what better thing to write about than how to make homemade soup, particularly in this cold weather. I also am currently fighting an illness, so luckily I had leftovers of this, and I hope it brings comfort to any of you battling illness right now. This is a recipe I found from Taste of Home, and it turned out absolutely delicious for me! Also, I would recommend visiting your next farmers market to pick up some of the ingredients for this soup!
Ingredients: 
- 2-1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
- 1-1/4 teaspoons pepper, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups uncooked egg noodles (about 8 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions:
1) Pat chicken dry with paper towels; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt. In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches, skin side down; cook until dark golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; remove and discard skin. Discard drippings, reserving 2 tablespoons.
2) Add onion to drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add broth, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Add celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 25-30 minutes.
3) Transfer chicken to a plate. Remove soup from heat. Add noodles; let stand, covered, until noodles are tender, 20-22 minutes.
4) Meanwhile, when chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones.
5) Shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to stockpot. Stir in parsley and lemon juice.
6) Adjust seasoning with salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove bay leaves.
(Ultimate Chicken Soup, Taste of Home.)