Betty's Homemade Chicken Soup

Since I was a young teenager, I love making homemade soups from leftovers. The one I make the most is Homemade Chicken soup. I make this soup often because I love roasted chicken from a whole chicken as pictured above.  When whole chickens are on sale, I try to buy 3 or 4 of them when I have the excess funds to do so. This allows me to make a huge dinner on Saturday night, then save the carcass to make soup with the next day.

Recipe is pretty simple and very easy to make. Could take up to 3 or 4 hours to make, but well worth it. It’s perfect for when you have that bad cold, or flu and don’t want anything but soup and ginger ale or hot tea. Always great to have on hand in the freezer for a quick meal at lunch or even dinner time.

This is the same recipe that my mother used to make while she told me stories of the Depression era and how her mother used to stretch that dollar to feed her 12 kids. Soup was the best way because you used leftovers and veggies to create a healthy meal for your family while making sure you had enough to feed everyone with leftovers to use for another meal. It was also a cheap meal to produce. 

Ingredients Whole chicken completely cooked, save the pan juices for soup. Remove large piece of chicken for another meal, then boil the carcass until everything falls off the bones. Save the juice. Cover carcas and let cook so you can remove the meat off the bones without burning your fingers. 

6 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 ½ tablespoons of store bought minced garlic

1 yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots, thinly sliced or buy carrot sticks in a bag use half the bag

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger powder)

2 tablespoons of Mrs. Dash seasoning

6 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme, stems removed

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 bouillions 

2 bay leaves

1 cup instant rice uncooked

2 cups of water

Oriental or Moraccon Curry powder (optional) 

 

Instructions

 

1.   Place a large Dutch oven or pot over medium high heat add garlic, onion, carrots and celery into chicken stock from boiling the chicken carcass; cook veggies are all cooked through and becomes translucent.

2.   Next add in grated ginger and grated turmeric. Sauté for 30 seconds to let the spices cook a bit, then add in the chicken meat you’ve rescued from the carcass. If you don’t have much, throw in a chicken breast cut into cubes, then add the rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

3.   Bring soup to a boil, and test to ensure all chicken is cooked. Then stir in the instant rice and one cup of water plus the chicken bouillon cubes. You’ll want the chicken to be covered by the broth so make sure you stir them down to the bottom. 

4.   Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

5.   Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Enjoy.

 

 

Note: I personally like curry power added as I serve the bowl of soup. It gives a great taste and a little extra heat to ensure what ever is ailing you, will be kicked out of your system quickly.