Chicken Soup

Well, I found a video on www.notimetocook.com by a member called The Frugal Chef for Chicken soup. I didn't follow it to the letter, but it was SO good... so here's what I did.

1 Chicken
14 Cups of Water
1 Large Onion
1 Carrot
3 Stalks of Celery
1 Bell Pepper
5 Cloves of Garlic
Pepper
Salt
Oregano
Basil
Bay Leaves
Thyme
Seasoning Salt


Cut your chicken up into pieces, you could leave it whole I suppose, but I find it easier to cut it into pieces. Put in a pot (after rinsing the chicken) with water, coarsely chopped veggies and spices. I didn't include measurements cause I think spice is a relative thing, spice it to your own tastes.

Allow to boil for 1 hour, then turn down the heat and simmer for a few hours. I let mine simmer for about three hours, cause I had to go out so left the hubby looking after it.

Once it has simmered, remove the chicken and set aside. Strain the broth. I usually pour it through a colander to get all the big chunks out, then line a strainer with paper towel and strain it a second time back into the pot.

Check for flavor at this point, I added some more water and some more spices cause I wanted more broth, you can definitely go with your instincts on this one, there is no "wrong way". Meanwhile remove the skin and bones from your chicken and shred it. I chose to use all the chicken in my soup, but I could definitely have frozen half of it for another soup another time and still had plenty of chicken. Set chicken aside for now.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, add a little bit of olive oil and some rice, I added 1 1/2 cups of rice. Allow it to cook, while stirring, for a few minutes. You'll notice it will go white and even a little golden. Allow it to cool a bit, hot rice into hot broth boils over - TRUST ME.

Add the rice to the stock and let it cook for a while, till the rice is tender - about half an hour.
Add in some frozen peas, carrots, corn, whatever vegetable you like really - I did peas and corn. Also add in the chicken. Heat through. Taste, spice, serve.

Enjoy :)