To Mom2wildboys: When I freeze the chicken meat, I spread it out on a baking sheet. That way it freezes into individual pieces. I then put it in a freezer bag and grab a handful when I heat the broth back up for my husband's Thermos. Same with the noodles. I bring the broth to a boil, add a handful of noodles and boil for 5 minutes. While it sits in the Thermos, it finishes cooking without being mushy. My husband says it's the best chicken noodle soup he's ever eaten and he eats it every day!

I see no one has addressed your question, and it is an important one. The vegetables you use in your soup can't be raw, in the main because all the soup ingredients need to be hot when they are placed in the jars. The safe processing times are calibrated based upon boiling contents. However, you don't need to overcook them either. Boil everything 5 minutes before jarring up and that's sufficient. I think you may be surprised at how well the vegetables hold up. The texture of the chicken will probably be more of an issue. Also, if you think of it, with uncooked vegetables, especially chunks of potato, you risk some absorbtion of the liquid during processing. It wouldn't be fun to pull your jars out of the pressure canner and see they're only 2/3 full of a dense sludge-like mixture. So be sure the mixture has been boiled 5 minutes and then aim for 1/2 solid contents and 1/2 liquid for appropriate density. You should be able to eyeball a half-jar and still come reasonably close to equally distributed contents. If you have a leftover jar of plain or thin stock, that's not a bad thing because it can be used lots of ways. You do have another option, and that's to can plain chicken and broth in one batch and mixed vegetables in another batch. Combine one jar of each for soup. This gives you maximum versatility and you may find this brings you closer to the flavor and texture you prefer. Carol

You can use any part of a chicken that you find on sale for making chicken broth. I buy packages of chicken necks & backs just for making broth. Not a whole lot of meat, but it really doesn't matter if you simmer the broth for several hours. By the time you're done, the meat has pretty much given up all its flavor. If your goal is to make broth & use the meat for soup, I think legs, and especially thighs, are a good choice. They are more flavorful than breasts and hold up to long cooking. As far as too much broth, you don't need to fill your dutch oven. Just make the amount of water equal to what you want to finally end up with. Or, you could make a larger amount and freeze the extra broth. However, there's absolutely no reason why you can't use a smaller saucepan with just a few pieces of chicken. I think browning the chicken pieces either in the stock pot or in the oven adds a richer flavor to the chicken broth. I always include a chunked up carrot, onion, and celery stalk, along with a bay leaf, some whole black peppercorns, and a couple of whole allspice. The longer you simmer the broth, the deeper and fuller the flavor. I usually strain the broth using a strainer lined with some cheesecloth & toss all the solids. However, if I have used some really meaty chicken pieces, I remove the bones & skin and set the meat aside for use later. Then I refrigerate the broth overnight & scrape off the congealed fat. If I'm making soup with the strained & de-fatted broth, I'll use fresh vegetables.

Hi Kids, Well, I made the soup and it smells great! I used about 1/2 Pioneer Woman and 1/2 my own knowledge and history of chicken soups in my past. The one thing I did that seemed really bazarr to me was from Pioneer Women. She made a roux using butter and flour and added it to the broth. Man oh man, that woman looooooves her butter! I have never tried that but since I was living on the wild side, using chicken broth in a can and all, I tried it. I must say that it gives the broth a fuller, rounder and richer flavor. We will be eating it in about 20 minutes and I will let you all know how it is. But from what I have tasted of it, it's great! I have a nice, crusty loaf of bread ready to pot into the oven and I am getting hungry. Thanks again for all your help. sooey