Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Chicken Soup


I don't want to brag--BUT, I make the best chicken soup on the face of the earth. If you don't believe me I can provide testimonials from my husband, my kids, and my neighbors. Last night we had chicken for supper and I couldn't go to bed until I had "boiled the bones." Chicken soup experts (even Alton Brown) argue that you can't make a great chicken soup without boiling the bones, it seems that the cartilage and calcium add both nourishment and flavor to the broth.


Side note: Recently my sisters-in-law were reminiscing about their great aunt Vera and commented that the weirdest thing about her was that she always boiled the bones to make soup instead of buying stock at the store. Well, of course she did--that's what soup experts do!


Anyway, I keep a stock bag in my freezer where I save leftover vegetables and chicken bones to make chicken stock. Once the stock is completed (Bobby Flay calls this broth "liquid gold") I refrigerate it overnight to allow the fat to solidify on the top. Once skimmed the broth is the perfect base for chicken soup.


My family's favorite is chicken noodle soup. I start with liquid gold and to that add chopped carrots, celery, and onions. Once the veggies are tender I add chopped chicken, whatever herbs are ripe from my garden (my favorites are parsley, basil, and rosemary) and homemade noodles. I simmer the soup until the noodles are done. Ambrosia.


Lately I've been making chicken tortilla soup and it's delicious. In fact, it was the hit of the night at our Relief Society birthday party last week. I started with liquid gold, add carrots, celery, and onions and simmer until tender. Next I added a jar of salsa, 2 cans of black beans, 1 can of corn, and some chopped chicken. For Relief Society I spiced it up with a few pepper flakes but I don't do this at home because Johnny doesn't like spicy food. When I serve the soup I provide tortilla chips, chopped green onions, sour cream (fat-free), and chopped avocado. Consumers can add as much or as little as they like. Heaven!

Tonight I'm making chicken tortilla soup (it's fast and easy) and I can't wait to eat it. This craving stems from 2 reasons--1) my chicken soup is the best! And 2) I'm unexpectedly substituting for another teacher. Hence, I missed lunch and I'm starving!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds Amazing. I love soup, it has to be one of my favorite things to eat. Chicken Soup is good for the Soul :)

Kyle said...

Once I had chicken soup with a chicken foot in it. It was at a Salvadorian restaurant. One of my best friend's mom owned the restaurant, and I loved eating at that place.

Ashley S said...

I have always wanted to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. And I really want to learn how to make homemade noodles! My mom never made them, so I have no clue how to do it. Sounds like you're a pro!

Joshua said...

I don't want to be a negative Nancy, but I'm going to have to disagree with you. My mother makes chicken soup in a very similar way. My mom never uses chicken stock when she makes her soup. Now I'm saying that your soup isn't the best, but since my mother makes soup in very similar way I imagine that they taste very similar as well.

drew said...

homemade chicken noodle soup is the greatest! I just ate and am getting hungry thinking about it!