Step 1: Add chicken to a large Dutch oven or stock pot

Step 2: Cover with water

Step 3: Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, skimming any impurities off the top to insure a clear broth

Step 4: If your pot is big enough, add the vegetables and spices for the last hour of the cooking time

Step 5: My Dutch oven wasn’t big enough to hold everything, just the chicken and other bones filled the pot, so I cooked the meat/bones for the full cooking time, then removed them, and cooked the vegetables and spices separately

Step 6: Strain everything out of the broth

Step 7: Bone the chicken, pulling the meat into large chunks

Step 8: Slice the carrots

Step 9: Return the chicken and carrots to the broth

Step 10: Cook noodles according to package instructions if you’re using them

Step 11: Add noodles to bowl and then top with hot soup