Hearty Chicken Soup for the Soul

Its been cold outside, we have been sick all winter long, there was some chicken bits frozen in the freezer and there is a fresh loaf of bread in the cupboard!  All great reasons for me to spark up a nice homemade pot of hearty chicken soup today.  And really, why not?

What do you do with your whole chicken after cooking & serving it?  Do you keep all the bits & bones afterwards?  I ALWAYS do.  I just throw it all (bones, skin, meat) in a freezer safe bag & freeze it to make soup with another day.  This is a great way to make 2 meals with one chicken and less waste :)

If you have never done this before, its so easy!  Listen, I am no chef, but I do like to cook and I fill all the bellies in this momstown KW household.  So, what I cook, can't be all that bad!  When I am ready to make my soup, I just pull my frozen bag of chicken bits & bones out of the freezer and throw it into a pot of water.  Let it boil for a bit and then simmer.  Let the chicken flavour the water, this will be your broth base.  Then, just let it cool.  While this is cooling, I start my pot of soup.  I cut up all the veggies that are going into this batch, because no batch is ever the same, and throw them in the pot.  I like to use brocoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, onions, potatoes, and some cherry tomatoes (but I throw them in near the end).   Colour variety is good.  Then, throw in your favourite spices, like garlic, pepper, oregano, parsley and some lemon juice and let it simmer!

Don't forget about your chicken bits/bones/broth that is cooling.  The hardest part of this whole process really is separating all your boiled chicken apart. And it will only take you 10 minutes, and its so worth it.  I put a strainer on the top of my simmering pot of soup and then pour the bits/bones/broth pot into the strainer.  All your broth will drain into your soup and then you are left with just the chicken bits, bones and meat in your strainer.  You may want to add some water and/or chicken broth depending on your taste preference and volume of soup you are making. All that's left to do is just pull all the chicken meat that you deem usable from the bones and add it to your soup.  Throw all the unwanted pieces of bones, skin and bits aside.  

Give it a stir and let it simmer!  All those flavours of spices, the broth you created, along with the veggies and chicken, will all melt together to form a succulent, tummy-warming, delicious hearty chicken soup.  On days like today, the best recipe for the stomach, the cold, our health and the soul.

For more yummy soup recipes, check out the momstown meals blog!