Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup: modifications

Oh, yes. This soup has appeared before on this blog. It's my favorite soup. One that always merits homemade chicken stock.

We're having this for dinner tonight, and sharing some with my mother-in-law this weekend.
As I was making this batch, I realized that I should include some modifications that have evolved over time. The recipe as it first appeared in Bon Appétit in November 1999 was in fact excellent. I've made it so many times, tinkering a bit just happens.

Here are my suggestions:

• I never measure the vegetables precisely. Always a bit generous with quantites.
• I don't sauté the mushrooms as I don't want them to break apart. I usually add them just before the chicken when the pot is at a full simmer.
• This is a soupy soup, so I usually use close to 6 T. of flour. Because I'm cooking gluten-free, today I used cornstarch to good result. I used 6 T. of that, too, where usually when you substitute you use less cornstarch.
• If you're lucky enough to have a Fresh Market near you, their whole boneless chicken breast is the perfect size for this recipe. But, I've sometimes used rotisserie chicken or chicken breast.
• I have used uncooked pasta in this soup, but you can control al dente better if you cook it separately.