Learning to make chicken stock was a liberating experience for me. I had no idea that one could take chicken bones and actually use them to make something for human consumption. Was my head in the sand, or what?? Now that my ways have been mended, I discard very few chicken carcasses and my husband and I have better tasting as well as better-for-us soups. There is less sodium in the homemade broth and no preservatives. Plus it freezes well.
Chicken Stock
- 1 Chicken carcass plus skin, neck, and organs
- 12 Cups Water
- 1 Carrot - chunked
- 1 Stalk Celery - chunked and/or the leafy portion works really well.
- 1 Small to Medium Onion - chunked
- 1 Small to Medium Potato - chunked
- 8 Peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Parsley
- Put chicken carcass in a 6 quart pan. Add water and the remaining ingredients. Put lid on the pan and turn burner to medium heat. Everything will heat up slowly and eventually begin to boil. Turn heat down and let simmer for at least 4 hours–longer if you have the time. The longer it simmers, the more flavor the bones release. The broth will become a golden color. By comparison, it makes the store-bought stuff look pale. When it has finished simmering, it is ready to use, or you can let it cool, then bag and freeze it for later.
I use this broth with the following soup recipes. One can take almost any soup recipe and substitute chicken stock for the water. The result will be a new soup as the flavor will be totally different — richer.
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Mmm Mmm, tasty.
Chicken Vegetable Soup with Noodles
Serves 4-6
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth3/4 Cup Noodles
- 1 Cup Water1 Cup diced Chicken
- ½ Medium Onion - diced
- 1 Clove Garlic - minced
- 2 Large Carrots - Sliced into approx. 1/4 inch slices
- 2 Stocks Celery - Sliced into approx. 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 14.5 oz Can diced Tomatoes
- 1 Small Can Mushrooms - optional
- 1 Cup Broccoli - optional
- Salt & Pepper to taste - I generally start with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- Put broth and water into a 3 quart or larger pan. Bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil again.
- Turn burner down and let soup simmer until carrots and noodles are done. 15-20 minutes.
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**To make more soup add 1 cup of broth and 1/4 cup of water for each additional serving. Also chop up a few more vegetables.
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The next recipe is for potato soup. I clipped it out of a newspaper. It rivals the good potato soups I’ve had at 54th Street Station and Panera Bread. However, I cannot leave a recipe alone - it always needs tweaking. In this recipe, chicken broth replaces water and olive oil replaces butter - more heart healthy.
Makes me hungry just looking at it.
Potato Soup
4-6 Servings
- 2 Cups diced Potatoes - peeled or unpeeled
- 3/4 Cup diced Onion
- 1/2 Cup diced Celery
- 2 1/2 Cups Chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons Salt, or to taste
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Cups Milk
- 4 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup diced, cooked Ham
- 3/4 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Cup canned Tomatoes, drained and diced - optional
- In a large stockpot combine potatoes, onion, celery, chicken broth, and salt. Cook until vegetables are tender. Do not drain.
- Meanwhile, put olive oil in a small saucepan. With the heat on medium, whisk in flour, mustard, and pepper. Add milk slowly, whisking until thick and smooth. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Pour into potato and broth mixture and stir. Add Cheddar cheese, ham and optional tomatoes. Heat thoroughly - do not boil.
- Optional add-ins:
- Fry up 3 or 4 strips of bacon until crisp. Cool. Crumble.
- Chop 2 Green Onions
- Top the soup with bacon and green onions after it has been bowled up.
- Chopped Hot Dogs work well in place of ham.
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Enjoy!!
