...meaning, ME! I have a bad cold, and chicken soup sounded oh, so good today! So I thought I'd share my method for chicken soup/broth/stock.
First off, I keep a gallon-size ziploc freezer bag in the freezer all the time, for the purpose of collecting chicken scraps. Anytime I trim, bone or skin chicken, those scraps go in the bag. And if I roast chicken, the bones go in there, too. When the bag gets full, it's time to make stock! You won't believe how easy this is, and how yummy it always turns out!
Homemade Chicken Stock
Fill a large pot half-full of hot water. Put over high heat, and add frozen chicken scraps. Add more water if necessary to cover. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Then add:
1 onion, cut in wedges
1-2 carrots, roughly chopped (or a handful of baby carrots)
1-2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
You can also add other vegetables you may have, like parsley or other herbs, garlic, parsnips, yams, whatever's in the fridge. The beauty of this is, you can use whatever you have. Tonight I had no celery, but I did have parsley. And it was still yum!
Simmer for at least an hour, up to three. You may have to add more hot water as it boils down.
Strain into another pot or large bowl. Discard solid ingredients. Now you can cool and freeze your stock to use in other recipes, or you can make soup like this:
Return stock to rinsed pot. Add chicken chunks (if you have some - I didn't tonight, and I didn't even miss it because the broth was so yummy) veggies such as carrots, peas, celery, and potatoes, and noodles if you like. Tonight I made fresh egg noodles and boiled them right in the broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yummy! And oh, so perfect for the cold and flu season!
