Chicken Soup for the Body and Soul

Chicken soup is a sure and wonderful remedy that goes back long before our Grandmothers.  It is one of the things I remember my Mom making for me when I was sick, that always helped me feel better... even if it was Cambells it still had a helpful affect both physically and emotionally and was the jump start to getting my strength back.  If you can make homemade chicken soup using fresh, natural or organic ingredients you can pack in the best healing ingredients.  Here is the chicken soup recipe I like to cook up around here when anyone is ailing from cold or flu, or broken bones. Incidentally, using the bones and cartilage of your chicken or beef or lamb, will add greatly to the nutrition of a soup.  Those elements are loaded with vitamins and minerals including glucosamine, collagen, calcium, msm and more, and are wonderful for bone, joint and tissue repair, as well as building the immune system. This broth has all the benefits from the chicken itself,  as well as generous amounts of garlic and parsley and veggies that all contribute to a healthful bowls of comforting medicine.

Homemade Chicken Soup

1 whole, natural, free-range, organic chicken

4 quarts water (or enough to cover the chicken generously)

1/4 - 1/2 cup white wine

4-5 cloves of garlic

4 stalks of celery 

2 large onion

4 small  carrots
1 small bunch of  fresh parsley

2 or 3 green onions finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste (I use Himalayan Salt, which is loaded with important minerals).

Noodles, gnocci, or rice

First make a nice chicken stock as follows: 

Place the chicken, water, and half of the following:  garlic, celery, onions and carrots in the pot and bring to a boil.  Turn soup down to low and simmer for several hours or until the meat is falling off of the bone.

Remove the entire chicken from the broth, place into a bowl and allow to cool enough to handle. Strain the broth, discarding the vegetables  and any small bones (I some times puree these vegetables and add back to broth).  Now you have a lovely stock, which you can use for  your soup... it can also be frozen into ice cube trays to have handy when ever you need a little chicken broth for recipes.

For the Soup:

Place broth back into pot.  Finely chop all remaining vegetables and add all but the parsley and green onions into broth.  Bring broth and vegetables back to simmer.  Cook until the vegetables are soft.

While the broth and veggies are cooking, pull the chicken meat off of the bone. Discard bones and skin  and chop the meat into chunks.  Add it back into the broth.  If I am using gnocci I will  add it into the soup the last ten or 15 minutes, if I am using noodles or rice, I like to cook them separately, and add  to each bowl rather than into the whole pot.. that way they don't become too soft while sitting in the broth and will hold together nicely for another meal. Add fresh chopped parsley and green onions the last 10 minutes that you simmer the soup. Put noodles into a bowl and laddle soup over them.

Serve with croutons.

Prepare your ingredients and place into stock pot.

Once chicken is well cooked, remove from bone and chop along with remaining vegetables.

I can't resist gnocchi, and love it for chicken soup, because I am one of those chewy, dumpling loving, people... and after all chicken soup should be something that makes you feel happy when you don't feel well right?  I always think emotions should be considered in the healing process.

Add final ingredients and simmer until ready to eat.

Bon Appetite and get well soon.