Chicken Vegetable Soup

My Thanksgiving soup turned out so well and is gone now, so today I made 8 quarts of a similar one using chicken and cubed potatoes instead of the little hens and stir-fry noodles.

• 10 big chicken thighs - skinned and fat cut off
• Italian Seasoning and Lemon Pepper
• Fresh ground black pepper and a little cayenne

Season these and roast in an open pan for about an hour and 15 minutes in a 325°-350° oven. Baste a couple times. This is a great way to gently cook chicken for soup, melting out the fat and leaving lots of good flavor in the meat. Cool while chopping and lightly cooking the vegetables shown.

You don't need to peel the little Yukon Golds, just scrub, cube and add them to sauté with the rest of the vegetables, with a big splash of EVOO, 2-3T, in a big pot. After it sizzled about 5 minutes, I simmered it all on very low heat, in a quart of bone broth I made from the Cornish hens a few days ago. I peeled the red potatoes, cubed and added them just a bit later, along with the bone broth so they'd stay a little firm. After the vegetables have simmered, covered on low, for 30 minutes, or until barely tender, move them off the heat.

When the chicken is cool, separate it into 3 containers.  Remove the meat from the bones and set aside.  Save the little pieces of tendons and fat for the dogs, or add that to the bones. Bones go back in the roasting pan, to simmer, covered, on low 90 minutes, with a splash of vinegar to pull the collagen from the bones, and 2-3 quarts of water for a quick bone broth.

Gently combine the vegetables with the meat and wait for the bone broth to finish cooking.  Today, this is bone broth using only the bones, so there's no need to chill to skim the fat, since there won't be much if any. When the broth is done simmering, remove the bones and strain it right into the big pot. Stir gently, check the flavor and add chicken bouillon or whatever is needed. A little lemon zest and slices will add a special brightness.

This is nice one to bring to a busy young family or someone you know who's fighting a cold. For me, one of the joys of winter is experimenting and creating new soups!

Be Creative!!  Happy Soup Days!! . . . Lin

#ChickenVegetableSoup