JudyNY
Member
Homemade Chicken Soup
This soup will take a while to cook and it is a little bit of work prepping and then deboning the chicken when it is done, but it is worth it. Besides it makes a lot of soup and you can have it for multiple days. Or freeze it. However, I would recommend to leave the noodles and/or pasta out when you freeze it, then cook up some fresh noodles when you defrost it. If you don't, the noodles will soak up a lot of that broth. But if you don't care, that is fine too.
Keep in mind that soups are so forgiving, so a little more of this or that isn't a problem.
By the way, with Thanksgiving around the corner you can use the same method except use the turkey carcass instead. leaving bits and pieces of meat still attached to the bones. You can add additional turkey meat as desired when the soup is done, but you will get all that good flavor from the bones.
Chicken Soup Ingredients:
1 whole broiler/fryer chicken (not a huge oven/stuffer)
1 package of soup greens
Note: If your market doesn't sell it as a package, you can buy items separately. I always wind up adding a little more carrots than what comes with the soup green package anyway and sometimes an extra onion. The soup green package usually contains any of the following: onion, leek (optional - if not in there just use the onion), a couple of small turnips, medium parsnip, couple of large carrots, couple of stalks of celery -the celery leaves are great for soup too-, fresh parsley and sometimes some dill (optional).
3 cloves or garlic, peeled (leave whole then remove when soup is done)
1-2 tsp Better Than Bullion Chicken Flavor - I prefer this to regular bullion cubes
Kosher or Sea Salt
Fresh coarsely ground pepper
For later:
1 box Orzo pasta or any other kind of soup noodle you like
Optional (the Italian way):
Grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese to sprinkle on each serving at the table, if desired.
In a large soup pot or Dutch Oven, place the whole chicken into pot. Wash and peel veggies. Cut carrots and parsnips into thick coins. If the turnips are very small, peel and leave whole, otherwise cut in half. Cut onions in half. Leave celery in stalks to be removed later (unless you want to have them in your soup).
Add garlic & herbs.
Fill pot to the top with water. Add salt & pepper. (You can always check for seasoning after soup is done if you need more, but I prefer not to have it overly salty, especially because I put grated cheese on mine.)
Add 1-2 tsp of the Better Than Bullion or a bullion cube undiluted.
Bring to a boil, then simmer 90 minutes.
Start boiling a pot of water for your noodles. Add salt and cook as directed on package, then drain.
When done you will scoop all the veggies and chicken out of the pot with a big slotted spoon or tongs. You can decide what veggies you want to put back into the soup. I like to chop the turnips into cubes and return them, but skip if you don't like them. The main thing is that they flavored the broth. Same for the parsnips. If you don't like the taste of them, then just don't return it to the soup. I sometimes leave the onions cutting them down and always leave the carrots, but that is me. I throw away the herbs, celery and garlic.
At this point you can skim off the fat that comes to the top, if desired. Also, when you refrigerate the soup, the fat will come to the top and make it easy to skim.
Cool chicken slightly then debone and remove skin. Cut all the chicken up into small pieces and return to the soup along with the vegetables you want to keep.
When the noodles are done, add to the pot. OR, you can keep the noodles separate so it doesn't absorb as much broth. My husband likes it to absorb the broth, so I add it now.
Serve in soup bowl, top with grated cheese if desired.
This soup will take a while to cook and it is a little bit of work prepping and then deboning the chicken when it is done, but it is worth it. Besides it makes a lot of soup and you can have it for multiple days. Or freeze it. However, I would recommend to leave the noodles and/or pasta out when you freeze it, then cook up some fresh noodles when you defrost it. If you don't, the noodles will soak up a lot of that broth. But if you don't care, that is fine too.
Keep in mind that soups are so forgiving, so a little more of this or that isn't a problem.
By the way, with Thanksgiving around the corner you can use the same method except use the turkey carcass instead. leaving bits and pieces of meat still attached to the bones. You can add additional turkey meat as desired when the soup is done, but you will get all that good flavor from the bones.
Chicken Soup Ingredients:
1 whole broiler/fryer chicken (not a huge oven/stuffer)
1 package of soup greens
Note: If your market doesn't sell it as a package, you can buy items separately. I always wind up adding a little more carrots than what comes with the soup green package anyway and sometimes an extra onion. The soup green package usually contains any of the following: onion, leek (optional - if not in there just use the onion), a couple of small turnips, medium parsnip, couple of large carrots, couple of stalks of celery -the celery leaves are great for soup too-, fresh parsley and sometimes some dill (optional).
3 cloves or garlic, peeled (leave whole then remove when soup is done)
1-2 tsp Better Than Bullion Chicken Flavor - I prefer this to regular bullion cubes
Kosher or Sea Salt
Fresh coarsely ground pepper
For later:
1 box Orzo pasta or any other kind of soup noodle you like
Optional (the Italian way):
Grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese to sprinkle on each serving at the table, if desired.
In a large soup pot or Dutch Oven, place the whole chicken into pot. Wash and peel veggies. Cut carrots and parsnips into thick coins. If the turnips are very small, peel and leave whole, otherwise cut in half. Cut onions in half. Leave celery in stalks to be removed later (unless you want to have them in your soup).
Add garlic & herbs.
Fill pot to the top with water. Add salt & pepper. (You can always check for seasoning after soup is done if you need more, but I prefer not to have it overly salty, especially because I put grated cheese on mine.)
Add 1-2 tsp of the Better Than Bullion or a bullion cube undiluted.
Bring to a boil, then simmer 90 minutes.
Start boiling a pot of water for your noodles. Add salt and cook as directed on package, then drain.
When done you will scoop all the veggies and chicken out of the pot with a big slotted spoon or tongs. You can decide what veggies you want to put back into the soup. I like to chop the turnips into cubes and return them, but skip if you don't like them. The main thing is that they flavored the broth. Same for the parsnips. If you don't like the taste of them, then just don't return it to the soup. I sometimes leave the onions cutting them down and always leave the carrots, but that is me. I throw away the herbs, celery and garlic.
At this point you can skim off the fat that comes to the top, if desired. Also, when you refrigerate the soup, the fat will come to the top and make it easy to skim.
Cool chicken slightly then debone and remove skin. Cut all the chicken up into small pieces and return to the soup along with the vegetables you want to keep.
When the noodles are done, add to the pot. OR, you can keep the noodles separate so it doesn't absorb as much broth. My husband likes it to absorb the broth, so I add it now.
Serve in soup bowl, top with grated cheese if desired.
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