Mama’s Chicken Soup
Ordinarily I wouldn’t be making, talking or even thinking about soup in the Spring/Summer. I typically save soups, stews, chilis (and the sort) for chillier months in the Fall and Winter. But, because the whether has had the most difficult time making up it’s mind, our family and everyone around us seems to be battling colds every other week.
So with this last round of colds, I thought I should break out my ole’ stock pot and make the quintessential home remedy for my sick babies: chicken soup.
Now, over the years, I have experimented with different chicken soup recipes but my husband (who, I must admit, isn’t a huge fan of soup to begin with) never really gave any of my attempts a standing ovation or encore plea. Not surprising but if I’m being honest, a bit disappointing. Challenge accepted, babe!
My most recent attempt at sprucing up this classic FINALLY got rave reviews and a, “you can make it this way again!” #winformom I’ll take it! So I quickly wrote down what I did before I could forget and now I’m going to share it with all of you so that if you are experiencing the same extended cold season in your home, you’ll have an easy recipe for a timeless classic remedy at your fingertips. After all, there is nothing more satisfying than mama’s chicken soup when your not feeling well, right?
- 2 32 oz. unsalted chicken stock (I used Swanson’s)
- 3 packages of chicken thighs with skins (I usually just get the Foster Farms packages from Costco but, of course, depending on where you get your chicken thighs from and depending on how much chicken you like in your soup, you can play around with the measurements BUT getting the chicken thighs WITH THE SKINS is key! They must have the skins. The fats from this type of chicken meat is where the heart of the soup really is and, in my belief, the “secret sauce” of why it makes you feel better)
- 1 medium onion, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- ½ teaspoon of celery salt
- pinch of salt & pepper, to taste
- 4 – 5 carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 bunch of celery, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I also throw in the middle pieces that I typically wouldn’t eat raw but I leave those as is (no chopping) so that I can pull them out when the soup is done. I think it just adds to the flavor of the soup)
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- Add 1 of your 32oz. chicken stocks, 32oz. of water (I just refill the chicken stock box once I’ve dumped that into my pot), chicken, onion, garlic, poultry seasoning, oregano, celery salt and salt & pepper to your pot and place it on a medium-high heat to boil
- Boil until chicken is cooked thoroughly (it will also start to become very fragrent. I believe I cooked mine for about 2 hours. I’m pretty sure you can’t really overcook this. The chicken just starts to literally fall off the bone and separate from the skins, which actually makes it easier to clean out later)
- Once chicken is cooked, add your celery and carrots
- Add your 2nd chicken stock and another 32oz. of water
- Simmer until veggies are as soft as you prefer
