Chicken Corn Soup - A little Pennsylvania Dutch in North Carolina!

Here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina we're known for our beaches and fun in the sun. Well let me just tell you, a blast of winter hit these here parts today and I have been hunkered down trying to keep warm. Nothing warms me up on a day like today as a nice, steaming bowl of Chicken Corn Soup. This is not a chowder. It's a clear broth soup that just makes you feel good all over and the best part is that it can be made year round because the ingredients, other than the chicken, come right from your store cupboard. Of course in the summer it tastes even better if you use fresh corn. I know there are some prudes out there that will condemn me for using canned veggies in a soup but let me tell you, this soup will put to rest any possible complaints from the peanut gallery with one spoonful. Now there are two schools of thought where Chicken Corn Soup is concerned. You've got your "with noodles" people and you've got your "without noodles" people. I fall into the latter category. My grandfather on my dad's side was a chef from below the Mason Dixon line and when he came to Pennsylvania to live with us for awhile when I was younger, my mother had to be very vigilant keeping a close eye on him or he would sneak into the kitchen and throw a couple of handfuls of noodles in her pot of soup. If there's one thing you don't do it's mess with my mama's recipe! She's one to keep traditions alive and her mother would have NEVER put noodles in her soup so, we didn't either. Chicken Corn Soup was served in every elementary school where I grew up and I have fond memories of taking my tray with a piping hot bowl of soup and a peanut butter sandwich to a table and getting that comforting warmth of home in the middle of a hectic school day. Even now I want a peanut butter sandwich on white bread with my soup. I love how you can recreate childhood memories with food. I, in turn, have passed this little tradition down to my daughter and I hope she'll pass it on to her kids one day.I also hope you'll try this add it to your families list of favorites!

Chicken Corn Soup

1 whole chicken
3 cans of whole kernel corn, with juice
3 cans of creamed corn
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt
pepper
parsley

In a stock pot, boil your chicken in salted water until the meat starts to fall away from the bone. Gently lift it from the broth into a large bowl and allow to cool enough so that you're able to handle it. (Do not throw away the broth! This is the basis of your soup.) When it's cool discard all the skin and any fat and shred the chicken, adding it back to the pot. Add all the corn including the juices. Taste the soup and adjust to your taste with salt and pepper. Add the egg and copious amounts of parsley. Ladle up and enjoy!