Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I live in a city of soup.  We even have soup contests here.  Each restaurant tries to outdo the others by making the best soup.  It's a fun predicament to be caught up in.  I always order soup, even if it's something I'm not sure I will like because more often than not, it is wonderful.  Recently I asked a server what their soup of the day was.  She told me....chicken noodle.  I almost never order chicken noodle soup because I make it at home often and it is just not one of my favorite restaurant soups. This was a new restaurant I was trying and I went for it and ordered the soup.  I was not disappointed.  It was creamy chicken noodle soup and the noodles were elbow macaroni.  What a pleasant surprise.  And man, it was good.  So, I came home and made it for my family.

 I made a big pot so you might want to cut this in half.  Melt a stick of butter with 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot.

 Add 1 cup of flour.

 Whisk this together with some cracked black pepper.

 Let it cook over medium heat whisking occasionally until you have a golden roux.

 

 Add a diced onion, 4 diced carrots, 3 diced garlic cloves and several diced stalks of celery.  Stir this into the roux.

 Add 4 quarts of chicken stock.  I used homemade which is much more flavorful than store bought.  Add some diced chicken, 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme, a bay leaf and 1/2 tsp. of celery seed.  Taste and add some salt if needed.

 Add a bit of bouillon for added flavor.

 Let this cook at a simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables soften.

 Add 3 cups of milk or half and half.

Add 1 box of uncooked elbow macaroni.

Let this simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta softens.  If it gets too thick, add more milk.

Serve it sprinkled with fresh dill.  A bowl of comfort. I think this could be another kid friendly meal.