Chicken Soup for the Belly
This chicken soup recipe is perfect for the busy person who isn't able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen but still wants to have that home-cooked flavor.Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 pound fryer
- 49 ounces chicken broth
- 2 to 3 quarts water
- 2 or 3 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 12 peppercorns
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 4 to 6 ounces uncooked pasta (thin noodles or pasta rings)
- fresh cilantro (optional)
- turmeric (optional)
Preparation:
Morning Prep
Clear out the inside of the fryer removing all the chicken parts (neck, heart, gizzards, and liver). Rinse the chicken inside and out under a cold running faucet. Place the chicken and all the parts except for the liver. inside the crock pot and heat on the low setting. Toss out the liver or give it to your cat as a special treat.
Evening Prep
- Take the cooked chicken and its parts out of the crock and place on a plate to cool.
- Dice or slice the vegetables (carrots, celery, and scallions).
- Drain the stock from the crock pot into a large cooking pot.
- Add additional can of stock and water. Set burner to low to medium heat.
- Toss in the carrots, celery, and peppercorns, cover the pot.
- Remove the skin from the cooled chicken, separating the meat away from the bones and any grizzle.
- Cube the chicken into bite size pieces.
- Add uncooked pasta and cubed chicken into the pot simmering on the stove top.
- Add more water as needed.
- Add the peas and scallions during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Ladle soup into serving bowls.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and a sprinkling of turmeric.
Helpful Tips
- Save time chopping by using frozen carrots, and placing the celery stalks in the soup whole. The flavor will go in the soup as it cooks and you can pull the celery stalks out at the last minute before you serve the soup.
- Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that will help ease aches and pains associated with cold and flu.
