Rinse and pat dry chicken. Place in a 5-quart or larger crockery slow cooker. Place the onion, carrot, and parsley around chicken pieces. Sprinkle with thyme, marjoram, and pepper.

Add chicken broth, cover, and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours or on High for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When chicken is done, remove from broth and cool for about 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Discard the onion, carrot, and parsley. Remove and discard the chicken skin and bones. Shred chicken and set aside. Skim off and discard all surface fat from the broth.

If cooking on Low, change setting to High. Add the boiling water, noodles, and mushrooms. Cook until noodles are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and continue to cook until noodles and tender and spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Gently stir in shredded chicken and heat through.

Ladle into wide, shallow soup bowls.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Exchanges Per Serving: 4 Lean Protein, 1 1/2 Carbohydrate (bread/starch).

Nutrition Facts: 285 calories (22% calories from fat), 31 g protein, 7 g total fat (1.8 g saturated fat), 24 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 72 mg cholesterol, 615 mg potassium, 121 mg sodium.