Cheeseslave is hosting Real Food Wednesdays this week with the theme of bone broth recipes. Having grown up making foods from scratch I thought everyone knew how to cook a basic soup. like this one. The other day when I was talking to a friend, I realized this isn't the case. So here's my contribution! Hope it's helpful!
Simple Homemade Chicken Soup
1 roasted chicken (free range if you can get it--I can't so I use what I have)
6 stalks celery
6 carrots
1 onion
2 potatoes
1 small bag frozen green beans (or fresh green beans)
garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Debone chicken and refrigerate meat. Use bones to cook stock according to Nourishing Traditions or one of the great recipes available online. Strain out bones.
Now you have lots of delicious, nourishing stock!
Chop onions, carrots, and celery into pieces as large or small as you like. You are doing this because you want to cook your harder veggies first--they take longer. I like to cut my onion fairly small and slice the carrots and celery in slices about 1/4" thick.
Bring stock to boil (I start with at least a gallon) and add the veggies you've already chopped. You want the broth to be cooking your veggies at a nice steady boil, but not a violent rolling boil. Medium heat should do it. They should be done within 30 minutes. You want them crisp-tender at this point, like crispy stir fried veggies. Truthfully, I just boil away until they are done. Check your soup periodically to make sure your stock is not all boiling away.
Cut potatoes into 1 inch chunks and add to soup. Add green beans. Add chopped fresh garlic to taste...Or I use minced garlic from the jar. I don't know if that is NT kosher or not!
Continue cooking till the potatoes and beans are soft. Add meat.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
My kids beg me for this soup when they are sick. Turns out chicken soup really is good for what ails you! It's great to keep broth and cooked chicken in the freezer for quick soups...When I am sick and unable to take all the time to make stock, debone chicken, etc. it's nice to be able to put it together quickly!
3 comments:
So you start yours with a chicken that has already been roasted? And just use the bones? I'll have to try that sometime.
I make mine in a 6QT pot with 3-6 lbs packages of hormone free chicken thigns, water, salt, pepper, onion, carrot, celery according to the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I usually add rosemary & basil. It takes about an hour, but you can simmer a bit longer so the meat is really falling off the bones. After trying all parts & whole chicken, I use only thighs because they are so easy to de-bone and I waste less and we all like the thigh meat. For soup, I also add ginger. Susan T
Sometimes I just boil the chicken too. I like to have chicken roasted in the oven or Holland grill for supper, and then use the leftovers for soup, though. To me, it doesn't make as much of a mess.
YOur soup sounds good. Itsn't it sad that so many people miss out on the simple lovely things in life, like homemade soup?
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