Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Our winter has been really weird.  It snowed and was bitterly cold in mid November.  Then come December it warmed up to high 40's and all of the snow melted.  Nothing.  I was so bummed because I love having white Christmas.  Well, I think everyone else does too and there must have been an abundance of prayers sent up.  Christmas Eve NIGHT we got snow. Finally.  But then it wasn't meant to be.  It warmed up yet again  and melted a good majority of our snow.  Today it is snowing again after the warm up.  It is only few inches, but those few inches call for soup and hot chocolate.  It isn't supposed to stay long and it is forecasted to rain in the next few days, so hurry and go make this.  It is the epitome of comfort food.  Really.  SO SO good.  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe from: Cooking Classy

• 2 cups dry medium egg noodles
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts* (I just used a rotisserie chicken and skipped to cooking part)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• 1 1/3 cups chopped carrots (3 carrots)
• 1 1/3 cups chopped celery (3 stalks)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• Prepare noodles according to directions listed on package (note that you want the noodles to finish about the same time the soup is nearly finished cooking) and drain. 
• In a large pot, heat 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender, about 3 - 4 minutes, then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add chicken broth, parsley, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken breasts and bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover with lid and allow soup to cook until chicken has cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes longer (cook time will vary depending on thickness of chicken breasts.  And since I used a cooked rotisserie chicken, I let it simmer for a few minutes before proceeding and I skipped the next shredding step.  If you are cooking the chicken in the broth, then proceed to the shredding next step.). Remove chicken and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then shred into small bite size pieces.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking slowly add in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps (it will take a lot of whisking to smooth since this is a lighter roux - lesser ratio of butter to flour). Whisk in cream and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour milk mixture into soup mixture and return chicken to soup along with cooked noodles and stir. Serve warm with fresh bread or crackers if desired.