The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup

I have a Chicken Noodle Soup recipe already, as you can plainly see. But it is very similar to my Chicken and Dumplings (all right, Paula's). Until I had this at my mother-in-law's. It is also Paula's, so I googled it. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE mushrooms?

STOCK
1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb) fryer chicken, cut up
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

SOUP
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup cooking sherry (I omit this, b/c I never have it on hand)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional (this is not optional for us)
Serve with crusty french bread

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have apporximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper.