Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I'll admit, my family doesn't care for this soup very much.  But I absolutely love it.  Eating it feels like a treat - comfort food to the max.

• 2 cups dry medium egg noodles
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts* (or 2 cups diced cooked chicken)
• 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
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

1. 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.
2. 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). Remove chicken and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then shred into small bite size pieces.
3. 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.
4. *If using thicker breasts, slice in half through thickness of breasts so they cook faster and more evenly.

Note: When I made this, I used diced chicken that was leftover from a previous meal, thus allowing me to just boil my noodles along with the vegetables, chicken, and broth until the noodles were finished.  This also reheated very well.

SOURCE: https://www.cookingclassy.com/creamy-chicken-noodle-soup/