My favorite chicken soup

Homemade Chicken Soup

      This is SC diet chicken soup, no potatoes, rice, noodles or anything starchy. I do miss the potatoes but the soup is brilliant on it’s own. I’ve made it several times with several different ingredients. I think soup is a great way to clean out your fridge, so use what I have on hand. I always try to have a few things for it, if it isn’t here I’ll go out and get it if I have enough energy.
     Of course chicken. I use Foster Farms as they don’t use hormones. You really must have a whole chicken. I’ve tried with just breast and bones or thighs with their bones. It just doesn’t taste as rich. You need the whole chicken with all the nasties. I pick them out after they are cooked down. Every once in a while I’ll miss some organ and Rick will bite into it and get a funny look on his face. I know it’s not nice but really it’s hilarious. He looks like he just took a bite of a worm of something really gross.
     Anyway, back on track. Before I go on and on. Here it is broken down.
Must have ingredients:
· Chicken, whole
· Onions, half of whole your choice
· Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

The other ingredients:
· Green beans
· Carrots
· Broccoli
· Zuchini

     You don’t have to use them, put in whatever you want. Those just happen to be what I have on hand today.

     Okay, now for the cooking part. In my opinion to get the best chicken soup it’s an all day project. I simmer the chicken by it’s self with salt only for about two hours. Then I add the onions. I don’t like the texture of onions so I like to cook them to nothing.
     I add all the veggies at the last minute, several hours after I started. Those only cook about 30 to 45 minutes, just until they all soften up a bit. Total cooking time can be 5-7 hours. I know, cooking things so long can rob food of its nutrients. However, that is why I add the veggies last. Chicken I’m not about to under cook.
     I’ve done the one or two hour chicken soup, it doesn’t have as much flavor. Soup for me is about several things, flavor being the top priority, as it should with any food. Consistency, I like my soups a little thinner. I don’t like supper thick soups. I don’t like the idea of adding something like corn starch just to add a different texture. Other textures, meaning the ingredients, I love that celery gets so soft but carrots stay firm. It keeps my mouth entertained. It won’t get boring.

     Now to make it more Rick friendly, in the beginning I cooked everything down to soft and soggy. Thank goodness we don’t have to do that anymore. I do try to scoop out some of the fat. Fat seems to aggravate his UC. It’s hard to get it out on the first try, much easier after it has been put in the fridge, then later I can just pick off the fat when it’s solid. I don’t put tomatoes in it anymore because tomatoes can sometimes also be aggravating. It’s always a learning experience cooking for him. Not bad though.