Homemade Chicken Soup
Let's power pack your diet with yummy wholesome virus fighting food!
I love soups because you can pack all sorts of vitamin rich plants and virus fighting herbs into your bowl meanwhile your tastebuds will scream THANK YOU!!
Truth be told I make a lot up as I go and my soups always taste different, but there are some basic steps I follow every time.
Grocery list:
- Chef's Shake > or an italian seasoning of your choice (this is your secret weapon in the kitchen)
- olive oil (the best olive oil to use is UNrefined... it took me years to figure this out... it is usually on the top shelf. Unrefined means all the nutrients are still in it...)
- celery (2-3 stalks)
- carrots (2-3 carrots, any color/variety)
- yellow/sweet onion (1/2 or one small)
- fresh garlic (4-8 cloves)
- one or two boxex of chicken broth (I buy organic)
- one rotisserie chicken (already cooked by the meat department - or cook your own!)
- one container of spinach
- potatoes or noodles (your pick > if you go with potatoes I suggest any kind of white potato and a sweet potato). If you are going low carb forget the potatoes and noodles.
- Bonus items to add (only if you have them on hand or stock piled with your latest grocery run): if you have any fresh parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, etc then chopp it up and add it to the pot while it is simmering!
The key to the yummy soup is layering in the ingredients.
Chop the celery, carrots and onion. In the bottom of your soup pan add some olive oil and salt. Let it heat (but not overheat > you do not want it to smoke > smoking is bad). Add the chopped celery, carrots and onions and saute. Add a heavy sprinkle of the Chef's Shake while sauteing. Saute until the onion just starts to soften and turn color. Add chopped garlic after the celery, carrots and onion have cooked (otherwise the garlic will burn).
Add the entire box of chicken stock. You can add more water if you want more broth (or you can add another box of chicken broth). If you add water then add more Chef's Shake and salt to taste.
If you are using potatoes: chop potatoes into any size you choose. In a separate pan add olive oil, salt and then the potatoes (my grown up version is to add a little red pepper to the salt and oil). Saute. Add some chef's shake. Saute until the potatoes start to brown. Add those to your soup.
Strip chicken and add as much/little as you like to the soup.
Bring soup to a boil. Add as much spinach as you can fit under the lid. Cover and turn down to simmer/low. Let it simmer for one hour.
Add egg noodles (remember they expand) 10-15 minutes before serving.
Items to note:
*sweet potatoes help with constipation and they are packed with good stuff
*leave the skins on the potatoes for extra nutrients
*Chopped garlic > one of your best natural ingredients to fight sickness. Add as much chopped garlic as your family can handle/likes. When I make soup for sick people I will use anywhere from 4-8 cloves (chopped).
*also there is supposed to be something extra nutritious in a rotisserie chicken... the way it spins and the fact that it is cooked WITH the bones has something in it that we don't get when we buy pre-packaged meat... I haven't researched this but I have heard it from a variety of sources.
