Chicken & Rice (Or Noodle) Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 stalks celery, cut in large pieces
1 large carrot, cut in large pieces
1 large leek, cut in large pieces
6 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1 large onion, peeled
9 cups water
1 (5 -6 lb) baking hens
1 tablespoon salt
8 peppercorns
For soup
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup long grain rice
10 ounces frozen peas
salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash chicken and remove giblets.
Place chicken in large soup kettle.
Add water, celery, carrot, leek, parsley, bay leaf, the clove-stuck onion, salt, and peppercorns.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 2 to 2.5 hours, or until chicken is tender.
Remove chicken from the kettle.
Strain broth, removing other ingredients, and return broth to kettle.
Skin chicken, remove bones, and cut up chicken.
To make soup:
Add diced carrots, chopped celery, chopped onions, and rice to broth in kettle; simmer for 10 minutes.
Add chicken, peas, salt & pepper to taste; simmer for 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
NOTE: When using noodles, I add them to the broth however many minutes it takes to cook them before serving.