I am a firm believer in some of the natural cures that our grandmothers used to use, so I wasn’t at all surprised when studies showed true benefits from eating good old-fashioned chicken soup. I always make a large enough batch to allow me to squirrel some away in the freezer . . . just in case.
Ingredients:
- 6 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 6 stalks of celery
- 2 cups of carrots
- 1 large onion
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 4 cups chicken stock
- salt and pepper
You can fix the chicken your favorite way. Throw it in the crock pot with a little salt and pepper. Don’t add liquid. Cook it all day on low or 1/2 day on high. OR, stick it in the pressure cooker with about a cup of water and pressure it according to the directions that came with your pressure cooker. Or boil them. Whatever works for you. Whatever method you choose, add a couple of stalks of celery, coarsely chopped.
While the chicken is cooking, chop the remaining celery, carrots and onion. Finely chop the parsley.
Save the broth created by the cooking process. While you are allowing the chicken to cool, saute the carrots for a while in the olive oil in a large pan. Carrots take the longest. After about 3 minutes, add the celery, onions, garlic. Sometimes I cut up my carrots and steam them for about 4 minutes in the microwave. Then I can saute them with the onions and celery and garlic at the same time and they’ll all be tender together.
Add the chicken stock (and the stock from whichever method you used to cook the chicken to the vegetables. Add salt and pepper and the fresh parsley. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the skin and bones from your chicken breasts. Shred the meat. Add it to the soup about 5 minutes before you’re done. (You don’t want to cook all the flavor out of the chicken. That’s why.)
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