Today on my stove there will be a pot simmering that looks much like this photo above. Mmmm. Chicken soup. Does it get any better? (Save for those who are vegetarians, of course.)
My neighbor Angela made this delicious soup over Christmas, and having had a bowl or three of it, I had to come home and recreate. I've done so twice, and I will be honest with you: I could live on this. Just ask Dan when we hit Day 4 of leftovers.
The kids won't touch it. The girl is a vegetarian. The boy is selective. But me? I could swim laps in the stuff.
It's very, very basic and you can zooch it up any way you like, but here's my favorite (and pretty dang healthy) chicken soup recipe.
Sheldon Street Chicken Soup
THE BROTH
1 whole chicken + one chicken breast (I get mine from Whole Foods)
4-5 stalks of celery, cut up, tops included
4 carrots, cut up
1 large yellow onion, cut up, with skins on
4-5 cloves garlic, smashed
8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS: Put everything in an 8-quart stock pot, cover with water, bring to boil and then down to a simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Skim off fat if you like (I generally don't.) Remove the chicken, pull off all the white meat and shred. Shred extra breast meat as well. Set shredded chicken aside.
Return as many bones as possible to the pot, and simmer another 30 minutes to an hour. Note: I discard the dark meat but if you're a fan, by all means, use it. However, it will add a little to the calorie/point content.
Strain broth and set aside. You can place the broth in the fridge to let the fat harden on the surface and skim off. I leave it as is and set it on the counter while prepping the other ingredients for the soup.
THE SOUP
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
2 T butter
3 cups shredded chicken breast
2 to 3 cups of cooked wild rice (I used the Broken Bits rice from Whole Foods, from the bulk section)
10 cups of chicken stock
chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS: Heat butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot and sauté onions and celery until wilted, then add carrots and sauté another 3 to 5 minutes until softened. Add chicken stock, chicken, wild rice, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Enjoy this simple goodness!
1 cup of the soup equals 5 points on the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system.
And if you have a cold, it just might make you feel better.
Enjoy!
Thanks again to Angela, my neighborhood food muse and running partner extraordinaire for the recipe.
madeline St onge says
Cathy if you don’t like the dark meat use all chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.
Love home made chicken soup
dawn says
I could live on a good soup, it’s my favorite thing to eat. This one looks so yummy and comforting. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us.
Barb says
Yum. Nothing better than simple, wholesome, chicken soup!
cathy says
Madeline, from what my neighbor explained to me, it’s the bones that really make the broth rich. Ergo, you need that whole chicken. : )
Sarah says
That looks/sounds YUMMY!
Debbie says
just made a pot last weekend. love homemade chicken soup. =)
Jewel says
Yummmmmy! Sounds perfect on this cold and snowy day. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I am tempted to make it today but that would require a trip to the grocery store.
Crystal N says
I love homemade chicken soup. I always add a squeeze of lemon (and a bit of lemon zest), at the end right before serving, to make the soup a little brighter and fresher tasting. While its been 80 here in Texas the last few days we are supposed to dip down into the 40s, and below, later this week. I’ll believe the prediction of snow flurries when I actually see ’em. Either way, I think chicken soup is in my family’s very near future!
Michell says
Yum Cathy! Diffinitely going to make chicken soup tonight. Here is a little twist: cut a head of garlic in half and roast in the oven, skins and all. Place the garlic in the pot with chicken etc to make broth. also add half a small lemon, I prefer a Meyer lemon. When skimming the broth remove and discard the lemon. Remove garlic and set aside. After you have added the final ingredients and broth to the soup pot squeeze roasted garlic into a small dish. Use the back of a spoon to puree the garlic. It will look like paste. Add to the pot. Then serve slices of the other half of the lemon as a garnsh. I agree with Crystal N, the fresh lemon definitely brightens the flavor.
cathy says
YUM. This sounds like a great tip! will do!
MarionW says
Your neighbor was right about needing both bones and meat. For an ongoing supply of homemade stock, when you make a whole chicken (roasted, grilled, beer can, whatever), freeze the leftover carcass in a ziplock freezer bag. You can also throw the uncooked necks from whole chickens into the bag. When you’ve accumulated a couple of bags full, you can make broth (add onion, carrot, celery, whatever herbs or spices, with water to cover), bring to a boil, and simmer for a couple of hours. Discard the bones and veggies and strain the broth. Then refrigerate to solidify the fat and skim it off. I typically freeze the broth in 2 and 4-cup containers, so that it is always handy for soup or recipes. Also, you don’t need to add salt until you are ready to use it in a recipe. Enjoy!
Courtney Walsh says
oh my hairy I am all over this! I am on a REALLY restrictive diet (since early January) and it’s getting kinda boring. With the weather being what it is, I am doing this tomorrow! mmmm. Looks amazing! 🙂 Thanks for the share. (PS I am so happy to see a soup w/o noodles, which I can’t eat! Yay!)
Clyde Brook says
I am a chicken lover and often eats it…I also like to cook chicken by my own hands…I like your recipe to create the chicken soup…..I will surely try this one too…Thanks for providing a different way to cook the chicken soup…
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Wendy Z says
Ahhhh…looks yummy especially on a cold Arizona day of 39 degrees 😉
Generic Viagra says
Oh, my goodness! This is exquisite!I love it! Ummm… now you have to make something for me. Please! ;-))))
elle says
discard the dark meat? really? i couldn’t get past that. what a waste.
cathy says
Yep. Its a calorie saving thing. My hubby will eat it for a chicken salad but I wont in a soup.
silagra says
Oh, my goodness! This is exquisite!I love it! Ummm… now you have to make something for me. Please! ;-))))
deanharris says
Nice Blog on food…Thanks for sharing!!