Cheater Chicken Soup

So I was craving chicken soup.  Here in Houston - in November - it finally dropped below 60 for a daytime high.  It will be warm again in 24 hours but for today I wanted some cold weather comfort food.  I did not have good roasted chicken or chicken stock in the freezer (which is a sin in my family, btw) so came up with a "cheater" version of down home goodness!

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless, frozen chicken breasts
1 T + 1 T + 3 T butter
1 T thyme
A few dashes of garlic powder, salt & pepper
1/2 C chopped onion
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
4 T flour
3 C chicken stock (in a pinch use a good chicken base & water, NOT the bullion cubes)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the 3 chicken breasts in a foil-lined baking dish, spread a tablespoon of butter & sprinkle the thyme, garlic & some salt & pepper over them.  Bake for 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, chop your veggies, melt 1 T butter in a medium sized pot & throw in your onions, celery & carrot, cooking until onions are turning translucent.
4. Add the other 3 T butter, let it melt, then add flour.  Stir it all up & cook for several more minutes, stirring a few times to cook the flour.
5. Add chicken stock to the pot, stirring well, bring to a simmer.
6. Take the chicken out of the oven & let it rest while your soup is simmering.
7. When the soup starts to thicken up, chop up the chicken - don't worry if it's a little pink still. It will finish up in the soup.
8. When the soup is thickened (after about 15 minutes simmering) stir in the chopped chicken & simmer it a few minutes more.  Salt & pepper to taste.
9. Serve your soup over your favorite biscuits or noodles!  Enjoy!