Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Matzo Balls (partial slow cooker recipe)

One of my favorite comfort foods is matzo ball soup. My version of this soup uses homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked roasted chicken and is essentially chicken noodle soup with matzo balls. This is an easy way to use leftover roasted chicken or turkey from holiday meals.

Ingredients for chicken stock: 
Use bones either from a roasted chicken or raw whole chicken (include neck, gizzard, skin, wings)
1/2 large sweet onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1 carrot cut into 3 pieces
1 celery cut into 3 pieces
3 whole peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves
kosher salt to taste
thyme (fresh if available or sprinkle dry thyme)
dash of dry parsley (again fresh if available)
Water

Place first 10 items in a crockpot (I have a 5 qt crockpot). Cover everything with water and cook on low for 24 hours. Your house will smell amazing! The final product should look like this:



Add 1/2 of the broth to a dutch oven and freeze the rest for future recipes. Next, let's make the soup!

Ingredients:
Homemade chicken stock
1 cup carrots
1 cup celery
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Egg noodles (I prefer kluski egg noodles)
dried dill to taste
roasted pre-cooked chicken
matzo balls (I purchase boxed matzo ball mix)

Directions: 
Prepare matzo ball according to directions on the box. Keep in a separate pan. Bring homemade chicken stock to a boil. Add carrots, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes. Add egg noodles, chicken, and dill. Cook according to the directions on the noodle package. Serve by ladling the soup into bowls and adding 2-3 matzo balls. Do not mix the balls and soup or the balls will absorb all of the liquid in the soup. Enjoy!