Why Aren’t You Making Chicken Soup?

Summer’s not over by a long shot, so keep on with those margaritas — make mine on the rocks, with cheap tequila and, extra salt…

Mmmmmm margaritas…

Ahem, moving on. When summer leaves you faster than sunshine in February, (and the fickle little goddess will) you’ll crave the comfort of soup on a cool early autumn evening.

So make the soup!

Recipe:

Simple Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 roasting chicken, giblets removed, rinsed in cold water. You can use boneless breasts, but why would you? The idea is to make a nourishing soup and that starts with rich chicken stock and you make stock with bones.

12 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet onion, chopped

6 large carrots, chopped coarsely

6 large celery ribs, chopped coarsely

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 bay leaves

Optional: juice of one lemon or 1 cup of dry white wine

8 ounces egg noodles or your choice of pasta

Method

In a large stock pot, add chicken, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover, cook for one hour.

While the chicken boils, heat olive oil in a large skillet until it shimmers. Add onion and cook on medium-high heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes, then add the carrots and celery, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. After vegetables are softened, add the garlic, mix well, and add the bay leaves. Turn off heat and let the mixture rest until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. (Hey, you just made a mirepoix!!)

Place a large colander over a large bowl and pour the chicken and broth into the colander. Pull the colander out of the bowl and set it over the stock pot, and let it cool enough for you to work the chicken with your hands. You don’t have to, but I usually run the liquid through a finer strainer to catch any additional floaters in the stock. Pull up your rubber gloves and remove the bones, skin, and any weird ligament/collagen that didn’t cook down from the chicken. You don’t have to use any gloves if you’re brave. Or like weirdly rubbing chicken skin and bones. Save the skin for your pups, if you want, they’ll love that slimy treat! Wrap the bones in foil, place them in a freezer-safe bag, and save them for the next time you make chicken stock or soup. (You can thank me later for this tip!)

Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and place it back into the stockpot with the chicken stock. Place the pot on the stove over med-low heat. Add the mirepoix veggies and the lemon juice or wine, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta, cook until al dente.

Remove bay leaves, season with additional salt and pepper as desirelld, throw in some parsley, and serve with crackers.

Tips and Tricks

Chicken soup is good for you! There’s a reason Grandma made you hot soup when you were sick. Chock full of macro- and micro-nutrients, chicken soup contains powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients that help keep your body strong whether or not you’re sick.

When you slowly cook down a chicken, the bones release their marrow. Bone marrow contains fat, protein, Vitamins A, B12, and E, iron, calcium, and folate, plus collagen.

Bone broth protects your joints, fights osteoarthritis, and can reduce inflammation.

You can add other veggies to this soup, too. Kale, (what???) spinach, and green beans all add flavor and color to this simple soup.

Buy noodles at the store or make your own. If you’re game, try this simple homemade noodle recipe. You don’t have to dry the noodles; just carefully add them to the broth after it simmers for 20 minutes.

There you have it! Simple homemade chicken noodle soup to nourish your body and soul! Make some for supper this week. Your family will thank you!

Let me know in the comments if you like the recipe!

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Be good to yourself and stop eating out every night! Anyone can make chicken soup!! It’s a simple dish that’s hearty and filling and does not require a lot of skill. You only need three pans, a bowl, and a colander from start to supper. Give it a try!

As always, any web links noted in this recipe are for reference only. They are not affiliate links and I make no money if you click them. Sometimes you need a visual, know what I mean? That’s why they’re here for you, and I hope they help you understand the method and equipment needed to create your recipe.

This recipe was originally published here.