Chill Killer Chicken Soup

I have been craving homemade chicken soup for weeks now. This is something i have never embarked on, but what better way to get a soup you like? That's right, make it yourself! You know what ingredients are going into it, and you what ingredients AREN'T going into it.

My co-worker makes a REALLY good chicken soup,and since having hers a couple of weeks ago my mission has been to create my own. Yesterday i did that, successfully.

I created my own chicken stock from scratch. Total time for me from start to consumption about 5 hours or so.

First you have to create the stock. For this i used the following ingredients and roasted them in the oven for max flavor.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs (bone in)
4 Chicken Breast Halves (with Ribs)
3 Whole Onions, quartered
6 Cloves Garlic
3 Large Carrots, cut into thirds
1 Large Green Bell Pepper, quartered
2 Tablespoons fresh Thyme
2 Tablespoons fresh Rosemary
1 Bunch Parsley, washed and patted dry

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken thighs & breasts, onions, garlic, green pepper, carrots, and celery into a large roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 1 hour.

Remove the pan from the oven. Remove the skin from the chicken (discard), remove the breast meat from the bone and set aside. (Because the breast meat for me wasn't quite cooked thoroughly i seasoned it a bit with a touch of salt, garlic powder, and paprika and put it back in the oven in the same roasting pan with all the juices from the first round for about 20-30 minutes, turning half way through. It truly made the chicken taste that much better).

Place all of the vegetables and chicken bones in an 8 quart stockpot. Cover with 3 quarts of water. Add the thyme, rosemary, and parsley to the pot. Cover the pot and simmer for at least 2 hours over very low heat.

Strain the stock by pouring the contents of the pot through a colander.

Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

4 Medium Celery Ribs, sliced (or approximately 2 cups)
4 Large Carrots, sliced (or approximately 2 cups)
2 Medium Onions, chopped (approx 1 cup)
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil
4 Cloves garlic, minced (approx 2 tablespoons)
3 Quarts of the Chicken Stock
4 Chicken Breasts that were removed from the bone.
Salt and Freshly Ground Black and White pepper to taste

Preparation:

In the bottom of a large pot cook the carrots, celery, garlic and onions in the olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. (Stirring occasionally to prevent burning)

Pour the chicken stock into the pot and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the stock is simmering shred the chicken breast meat into 1 inch strips.


Add the cooked chicken, shredded, to the pot. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to your specific taste.

Add noodles or rice of your choice.