favorite chicken soup recipe?

[lmh2402]

based on a smart suggestions from m448 - i'd like to make some chicken soup for DS tonight

my chx soup always comes out...just ok.

i never measure anything, so sometimes the proportions are off and it's just kind of bland

plus i never use things like ginger or garlic in there

so any suggestions for a great immunity-boosting (tasty!) soup would be most appreciated

thanks

[g-mama]

Here's our favorite:

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Chicken and Broth:

4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2-3 chicken breasts - about 1 pound (I sometimes use a rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off of it and use both dark and white meat but you could do either)

Vegetables:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Dumplings:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or sage
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil


In a large pot, boil the chicken broth, water and chicken breasts until the chicken is cooked through and tender (about 15 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pot, reserving the broth in the pot, and shred the chicken with two forks. Set the chicken aside and keep the broth warm on the stove.

Note: If using pre-cooked chicken, just boil the broth and water.

While the chicken is boiling, in a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the carrots and onions. Saute for about 6-7 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the vegetables to the hot broth in the pot after the chicken has been removed. Add salt, thyme and pepper to the vegetable/broth mixture and stir to combine. Heat the soup to a simmer.

In a small bowl, blend ½ cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour with a wire whisk until smooth. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the flour mixture into the hot vegetables and broth and whisk until well combined. Add the reserved chicken and cook, stirring gently for one minute.

For the dumplings, in a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, milk and oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined (don't overmix, it is okay if there are a few dry spots of flour here and there).

Heat the soup to boiling and drop teaspoonful amounts (the dumplings should be fairly small, they'll expand while cooking) of dumpling dough into the boiling soup, covering the entire surface of the soup (don't make more than one layer of dumplings). Reduce the heat to simmering, cover and let the dumplings cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Do not lift the lid of the pot while the dumplings cook.

When the dumplings have cooked fully, remove the lid and gently stir the dumplings to break them apart. Serve.
__________________

[m448]

Mine is kind of simple for soothing stomachs and ill kids but like my mom it's mostly done by eye. I keep chicken stock in the freezer that I make from the bones left from roasted or rotisserie chickens. So when I'm ready to make soup I will chunk up some boneless breasts and brown them in some olive oil with onions. I'll add minced garlic and some grated ginger (I keep nubs of peeled fresh ginger in the freezer ready to grate frozen) then add about 3-4 allspice berries (it's a dominican thing, allspice is the caribbean pepper). Cover with chicken broth and add some sliced carrots. When the carrots and chicken are done I'll take out the chicken to shred then put it back in the broth. If I'm in the mood I'll add some egg noodles to cook directly in the broth after I add the chicken.

[mommylamb]

Here's my mother's Jewish Penicillin Chicken Soup recipe. You need a really tall soup pot.

Take chicken and remove all the gizzards, place in pot with breasts face up.
add water until the chicken just barely peaks out from the water
put in 5-7 chicken bouillon cubes (more flavorful than salt).
Add a whole, peeled onion
Add a lot (like a real lot) of fresh dill
allow to boil uncovered for 45 minutes
Then add carrots, parsnips, celery (you can add a turnip too if you like). I like to have a lot of veggies in mine
boil uncovered for another 30 minutes.

The quality will depend on your pot (the more often you make it, the better. It's always best in my mother's pot, which was once her grandmother's pot and dates back from at least the late 1800s) and on the chicken. Capons are the best for it. It can also be easier if you get a chicken that is already cut up because it's easier to get it out of the pot after it's cooked. I like to take the meat off the bird and put the meat back into the soup (but that's not how my mother or grandmother did it).

ETA: matzo balls or egg noodles are great with this.

[brittone2]

I don't follow a recipe but I make a bone broth/stock on the stove (veggie peelings, chicken carcass, etc.), and then strain. To that I add organic brown rice, and let that cook. Add chicken, celery, carrots, chopped kale, and corn to that. Sea salt, pepper, a bay leaf if I have it.

It hits every major food group and freezes totally fine. I use the glass ball *freezer* jars and it is a nice healthy homemade "convenience" food for my kids. They love it.

[Tondi G]

My mom makes Chicken soup like this

Add chicken pieces (with bones)... thighs or wings (whichever you like).... the bones make the broth/stock good, to a stock pot. chop and add carrots, celery, green onions and mince garlic. cover chicken and vegis with water and add lawry's seasoned salt. Boil for about 45 minutes to an hour. We serve the soup with acini de pepe noodles. boil them seperately... add to a bowl and then add a couple of ladles of soup. We eat the chicken on the side.

http://www.amazon.com/Cecco-Acini-Pepe-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B001EQ54GO

[Piglet]

In addition to the usual stuff, I throw in a big (like 2-3 inch) chunk of ginger in mine and then remove it after the soup is done cooking. I also throw in lots of whole garlic cloves.