Nancy's Ol' Fashioned, Easy, Simple Chicken Soup...Un-Chained Recipe Contest!
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 12
Ingredients
Nancy’s Ol’ Fashioned, Easy, Simple Chicken Soup1 whole chicken (about 3-5 lbs.)4 quarts cold water (I use filtered or spring; tap is fine)3 large carrots3 large celery stalks3 large, whole garlic cloves1 large, sweet onion (or 2 medium)3 dried bay leaves6 sprigs of fresh thyme1 tablespoon (kosher) salt (to taste)2 teaspoons black pepper (to taste)¼ cup chopped, fresh, Italian, flat-leaf parsley1-½ cs. cooked barley, pastina, orzo, acini de pepe, alphabets, brown rice, wheat noodles, or other small-size, complex carbohydrate (optional)
1. Wash chicken well (inside and out, remove organs, you can use them in this soup of you want, just make sure you wash them, too). Remove and dispose of chicken fat that is naturally lodged inside the lower cavity of the chicken near the thighs (some people save this fat, wrap it up, freeze it, and use it to fry things because, when the fat is heated, it renders down, like oil, but it’s too much cholesterol and fat for me!). Fill large pot with water and put in chicken.
2. Add salt and pepper; wrap thyme and bay leaves in some knotted cheesecloth for easier removal later; add to pot. Wash carrots, chop off bottoms, cut one in half and the other two in thirds; wash celery, cut off bottoms, cut one in half and the other two in thirds, and don't forget to cut off and include the green celery-tops (unless you're using celery hearts); peel off onion skin, chop off ends, leave whole; peel garlic cloves, leave whole; put all prepared and whole veggies in water with chicken; cover pot with tight lid; bring to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring a few times to keep everything moving around, cooking evenly, not sticking to bottom of the pot, or catching from the heat.
3. Simmer slowly, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 1-½ to 2 hours, until the chicken turns white, is cooked through, and hasn't yet fallen apart. Remove bay leaves and thyme. Using two, large, slotted spoons, carefully remove all chicken pieces, put in a big bowl, away from the stove, for about 20 minutes (with slotted spoons, press hard to separate all joints and large pieces of meat, like the thighs and breast, to crack skeleton apart for quicker cooling and easier handling).
4. While the chicken is cooling, take out the halves of the cooked carrot and celery, cut up into smaller pieces, and return to the soup. Sprinkle in parsley. Stir. Get out your food processor, scoop out with large, slotted spoons all veggies BUT the carrot and celery you just cut (NOTE: some of the onion may have separated, so include those larger pieces if you can; also, search for the garlic, which might have dissolved, so don't worry about it if you can't find it), and add veggies to your food processor. Pulse everything first to get it going (10 seconds), then puree until veggies begin to liquefy and slip down the inside of the top of the food processor (20 seconds). Add all pureed veggies back into soup pot. Add cooked noodles, pasta, rice, or other, optional, complex carb. Stir well. When chicken is cool and easier to handle, take a few large dark meat pieces and/or about ½ of a chicken breast, put in the food processor, and pulse (15 seconds). Add chopped chicken back to soup. Take apart rest of the chicken with your fingers, picking as much meat as you can off the bones and ripping it into small, bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back to soup. Reheat for a couple of minutes and stir well.
This recipe makes about twelve, substantial, 12-14 ounce servings.
NOTE: I always freeze a few servings in different size containers, so all I have to do is defrost it and I'm good to go! Also, the easiest way to defat this soup is to wait until it's cool and skim off the fat on the top with a large spoon and/or freeze in containers, so the fat rises to the top, and can easily be skimmed off prior to reheating.
Number of Servings: 12
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user KEEPITMOVING.
2. Add salt and pepper; wrap thyme and bay leaves in some knotted cheesecloth for easier removal later; add to pot. Wash carrots, chop off bottoms, cut one in half and the other two in thirds; wash celery, cut off bottoms, cut one in half and the other two in thirds, and don't forget to cut off and include the green celery-tops (unless you're using celery hearts); peel off onion skin, chop off ends, leave whole; peel garlic cloves, leave whole; put all prepared and whole veggies in water with chicken; cover pot with tight lid; bring to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring a few times to keep everything moving around, cooking evenly, not sticking to bottom of the pot, or catching from the heat.
3. Simmer slowly, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 1-½ to 2 hours, until the chicken turns white, is cooked through, and hasn't yet fallen apart. Remove bay leaves and thyme. Using two, large, slotted spoons, carefully remove all chicken pieces, put in a big bowl, away from the stove, for about 20 minutes (with slotted spoons, press hard to separate all joints and large pieces of meat, like the thighs and breast, to crack skeleton apart for quicker cooling and easier handling).
4. While the chicken is cooling, take out the halves of the cooked carrot and celery, cut up into smaller pieces, and return to the soup. Sprinkle in parsley. Stir. Get out your food processor, scoop out with large, slotted spoons all veggies BUT the carrot and celery you just cut (NOTE: some of the onion may have separated, so include those larger pieces if you can; also, search for the garlic, which might have dissolved, so don't worry about it if you can't find it), and add veggies to your food processor. Pulse everything first to get it going (10 seconds), then puree until veggies begin to liquefy and slip down the inside of the top of the food processor (20 seconds). Add all pureed veggies back into soup pot. Add cooked noodles, pasta, rice, or other, optional, complex carb. Stir well. When chicken is cool and easier to handle, take a few large dark meat pieces and/or about ½ of a chicken breast, put in the food processor, and pulse (15 seconds). Add chopped chicken back to soup. Take apart rest of the chicken with your fingers, picking as much meat as you can off the bones and ripping it into small, bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back to soup. Reheat for a couple of minutes and stir well.
This recipe makes about twelve, substantial, 12-14 ounce servings.
NOTE: I always freeze a few servings in different size containers, so all I have to do is defrost it and I'm good to go! Also, the easiest way to defat this soup is to wait until it's cool and skim off the fat on the top with a large spoon and/or freeze in containers, so the fat rises to the top, and can easily be skimmed off prior to reheating.
Number of Servings: 12
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user KEEPITMOVING.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 105.4
- Total Fat: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 51.7 mg
- Sodium: 675.0 mg
- Total Carbs: 3.9 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 16.7 g
Member Reviews
-
JEMPOWER
Yep, good old fashioned chicken soup! - 11/18/09
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (11/19/09)
Thanks, JEMPOWER! I consider that a compliment, coming from you! Nancy
-
KITTYDOT
I made this today and found it delicious, healthy and very low in carbs, exactly the way I cook.......LOVED IT - 11/10/09
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (11/11/09)
Thanks, KITTYDOT! I appreciate all feedback and glad you didn't mind the chicken-prep time because it adds so much homestyle flavor to my recipe. Enjoy! Nancy
-
VTMELWEL
sounds like a lot of work but i bet it's so worth it! - 11/10/09
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (11/10/09)
Oh, it is! Please try it and let me know how you like it. It's not hard, really, and it may take about 15 minutes to deal with the chicken. BUT THE FLAVOR!
-
GRANMOMMY
This sounds really good. Think I'll try it when my daughter's here for Christmas. - 11/4/09
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (11/5/09)
Music to my Sparkears! Please let me know what you and your family think of my ol' fashioned chicken soup. Thank you! Nancy
-
GRANDPADAVE627
INCREDIBLE!!!! I simplified the recipe though, for those of you that dont want to deal with de-boning a chicken and such, this is what I did: I used all the same ingredients except instead of a whole chicken I used a couple boneless-skinless chicken breasts and thighs with a total weight of 3-5 lbs. - 8/7/13
-
LILANGEL181
This is such a tasty soup that I used it as the base for a Passover friendly chicken soup (using matzo-balls instead of rice or grain). I just LOVE the shredded chicken and processed veggies, and didn't think it was tough to do at all!
Thanks for the yummyness,
~Laura - 4/20/11
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (12/2/11)
i, too, have used it as a passover-friendly meal! glad u enjoyed it. nancy
-
SUSANAT2
Haven't made it yet...is that 1 and a half cups of pasta or barley? Just couldn't understand the measurement amount... - 2/4/11
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (10/21/12)
yes, 1 and 1/2 cup, but nothing is written in stone. do your own thing and make it yours! n
-
HUNGRY_HAGGIS
Just made this soup with my nine year old and she said " It looks and tastes like something you get out of a restaurant... A really posh one!" High praise indeed from the child that hates vegetables but cleared 2 bowls of this! Thank you for the recipe, it was easy to make and lovely to eat. - 1/21/11
-
DDWMITCH
My teen-aged son. and my husband both had seconds!
I'm sure it would've deserved the five stars had I used a whole chicken instead of split breasts, but since I tweaked...
- 11/16/10
Reply from KEEPITMOVING (12/2/11)
any and all tweaking is allowed....and encouraged! go for the whole chicken next time! it's sooooo worth it! nancy