Chicken Stock

A few weeks ago I bought some local natural raised chickens. They were whole and had never been frozen. (there were even quite a few feathers left on!) I cooked them up right away and cut off all the meat to use later in enchiladas or soup or something. I did my usual routine with the bones and skin - made stock.

For stock, you can use whatever you can get your hands on. Fryer chickens are sometimes really cheap at the local grocery store. You can bake them, cut off the meat and use the carcass. If you buy one of those rotisserie chickens from Costco, save the bones. I have also heard of people using chicken wings to make stock.

This is such an easy thing to make and great to have on hand. You know exactly what is in it, no strange additives, no mysterious ingredients.

Chicken Stock


Clean as much meat and fat from the bones as you can. Put the carcasses in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil (this is important as the boil will cause any fat to float to the top and you can skim it off). Boil the carcass for about 30 minutes. You can keep your stuff on the stove, but for convenience I prefer using my crock pot on high at this point. After the pot has boiled on the stove about 30 minutes, skim the top again and pour everything into your crock pot. Then add some carrots, celery, onion, a bay leaf or two and some salt and pepper. There is no set amount but you probably want at least 3 or 4 carrots and one big onion. All the veggies need to be cleaned and roughly chopped. They will get discarded later so they dont need to look great.
Simmer in your crock pot for about 3 hours. Pull out all the big pieces and pour the liquid thru a fine strainer. You can use it immediately or freeze it for use in later dishes.
2 carcasses covered with water should make about 2 1/2 quarts of stock.

Minestrone

A friend shared some of this soup with me the other day. It was spectacular! Since it is the end of the gardening season for us, we eat a lot of soups in the fall to help clean things out. Minestrone is a good versatile soup cuz you can add or subract almost anything you want.

In general, my kids will eat anything. They had a hard time with the spinach in this soup. I think next time I make it, I will use fresh spinach and chop it up more so its not so clumpy and stringy in the soup. It didnt bother me, but they were irritated that it kept falling off their spoons.

The original recipe (and the picture) are found here


This is my version:
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced and save all juices
2 cups dried beans - rinsed in hot water. I used black and white beans
1 cup chopped carrots
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup uncooked pasta (I used whole wheat shells)
1 cup fresh grated zuchinni
1 cup fresh diced yellow squash

I rinsed my beans in hot water and soaked them overnight before I used them in this dish.
If you are using any variety of red beans, YOU MUST do a rapid-boil to kill a possible toxin that occurs naturally in red beans.

Add everything to the crock pot, cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until the beans are soft. Add dry pasta, and cook on high for about 30 minutes.

Serve with bread sticks and enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I love it when people share recipes with me. My friend, Tami, sent this recipe to me the other day and we made it last night. It will be on the repeat list, it was a hit!

The original recipe can be found here. I had to make some changes, because I didnt have all the ingredients it called for, here is my version:Chicken Pot Pie Soup

• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 quarts water
• 1 quart chicken broth
  
• 1/2 pound chicken
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 small white onion, diced (1/4 cup)
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup frozen peas
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Pinch salt
• 2 pie crust (store bought or make your own,the best pie crust recipe can be found here)
  

Directions

Add diced potatoes to a large bowl filled with cold water. Set aside.

Bring quarts of water and chicken broth to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to poach; about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Continue to simmer the broth.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the celery cooking until translucent, 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and whisk until it forms a roux.

Whisk the roux into the broth and bring back up to a boil. Drain the potatoes. Add the potatoes and the chicken to the broth over low heat. Stir in the carrots and peas. Place a lid on top and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cream and a pinch of sea salt and cook for 5 more minutes.

Preheat oven.

Lay the pie crust on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Cook 15 - minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown. When the crust has cooled, break up into pieces.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the pie crust.

Creamy White Chili

This recipe originated from Shari.
You should take the time to read her post on chicken broth.
I didnt really follow the recipe in exactness. I just threw in what amounts looked good and it was delicious!! I think this recipe can be adapted easily to what you have on hand. If you are the type of person who needs to follow a recipe, go to Sharis blog and follow hers, dont skip this one! It is soooo yum!

Creamy White Chili

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
few red potatoes, cubed with peels still on (I used 4 pretty big spuds that I dug out of my garden)
1 clove of garlic
4 stalks of celery, chopped
32 oz chicken broth
2 cans of white beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can of green chilis
1/2 cup quinoa
few shakes of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
dollop of sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large pan, saute onion, potatoes, celery, and garlic. Add chicken broth, spices, and quinoa to pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes and celery are tender. Remove from heat and add a little sour cream and whipping cream. Stir until combined and serve.

Ham and Potato Soup

5 cups peeled potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 1/2 cups ham, chopped
5 cups water
1/8 cup chicken bullion (about 6 cubes)
1 tsp salt
Add all above ingredients (minus the bullion) and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes. Stir in bullion.
Make roux and slowly stir into soup.
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
melt butter add in flour. slowly pour in milk and whisk while pouring so it does not get lumpy. Cook 4-5 minutes before adding to soup.

White Bean Chili

White Bean Chili

3 cans of Great Northern Beans
1 medium jar of medium or hot salsa
1/2 t. Ground Cumin
1/2 t. Chili Powder
1 salsa jar of milk (after you dump in the salsa, use the jar to measure the milk!)
3 Chicken Breasts
1 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese
Mix beans, salsa, milk, cumin, & chili powder in a large saucepan - bring to a boil. In a pot, boil chicken til fully cooked then chop into bite size pieces, or shred it. Add the chicken to the mixture and then add MOST of your cheese. Save a little to top your chili with!

This is easy and so yummy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 C. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 Cup salsa
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can corn (drained)
2 boneless skinless chicken breast browned in a skillet

combine broth, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add beans, corn, chicken and salso. Reduce heat to low. Stir and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add cilantro and ladle into bowls. top with tortilla chips broken into bite size peices.

I didn't have cilantro so I left it out. It still tasted good. we also added grated cheese on top and that made it really good.

Broccoli and cheese soup

These recipe makes quite a bit so be prepared

1 Large bunch broccoli
4 carrots
4 potatoes
1 onion
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Salt
1 cube margarine

chop veggies cook until tender,
then add...
2 cups half and half
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
then stir and add grated velveeta cheese.

I like to do mine in the crock pot and let the veggies cook in the broth. It just gives it a nice yummy flavor.