Healing Chicken Vegetable Soup

I bought some BBQ seasoned chicken leg quarters a while ago. Roasted them, then made bone broth, which is the darker jar shown in this photo. I had also made another batch of bone broth using plain chicken legs. Both of these jelled perfectly, indicating a lot of natural, healthy collagen. For this recipe, I used all the darker bone broth and about half of the lighter jar, so about 40oz. total.

For both of these bone broths, I just simmered the skin and bones with a splash of apple cider vinegar in a couple quarts of cold, filtered water. No additional spices, seasonings or other vegetables added. I might just keep it simple like this in the future. This way, with no onion or garlic, the bone broth is good for humans or my dog and cat. Roasted legs and thighs have made the best bone broths.

I chopped-sliced-cubed the vegetables and added them to the pot according to cooking time needed. The 3 carrots need the longest, so they went in with a couple tablespoons of Ghee and a tiny big of onion. I sauteed these a few minutes, then covered for a bit longer over low heat.

Then I added some bone broth, 8oz. of frozen green beans and the Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed. This was covered and simmered about 15 minutes. Then more bone broth and all the chopped garlic, onion, 2/3c cooking Sherry and 10oz. of roasted chicken. Cover this and simmer another 15 minutes.

This turned out really well, with no additional seasonings! Just plain, healing chicken and vegetable soup! . .Lin

Whole 30 - Langostino Bisque

This was a fun recipe to create! 😃

The end result was a little too thin - too much bone broth - as well as a bit too lemony. Nevertheless, it's really a great bisque, but I think my favorite of all has been each of my Crawfish Bisques.

Saute the chopped carrots, potatoes, green pepper 2 of the garlic cloves-minced, and celery into a couple tablespoons of butter or ghee, in a 4 quart soup pot.

Sprinkle this with Himalayan pink salt, black + cayenne pepper and Old Bay seasoning, then saute and let it sizzle together a few minutes. Add some bone broth, cover and simmer 7-8 minutes.

Next add 2-3T of lobster Better Than Bouillon, 2-3T pure tomato paste, the kale, celery tops, 5-6 chopped green onions and the other 3 crushed-minced garlic cloves and 5 oz. of the langostino to the pot. (If you're not restricting alcohol, 1/2c or so of a good cooking Sherry could be added now.) Stir, cover and simmer, on low heat, another 7-8 minutes. Then remove from the burner to cool just a little.

Cut the remaining 7oz. of whole langostino into smaller pieces, drizzle with a little pure lemon juice, and set aside until after the bisque has been blended.

Once everything except the lemon-marinated langostino has been added to the pot and simmered, then cooled slightly, pour in the can of coconut milk, then use your immersion blender to blend everything - a little bit, or smooth, your choice.

At the very end, stir in the langostino and the lemon juice they were marinating in. 

Reheat, just until barely bubbling, stir and ladle into bowls. Garnish and serve accompanied by whatever crunchy things you like. This would pair nicely with a Chef's Salad or just a big bowl of chopped mixed greens (and crusty bread if you're not restricting grains.) . . . Lin

Whole 30 - Chicken Vegetable Soup with Fennel, Lemon and Dill

Today is March 12th. While only 37° it's a beautiful, crisp, sunny Spring day! I have some crisp, fresh ingredients, so it was the perfect inspiration for this soup. Since I'm following the Whole 30 detox-elimination program, this contains no sugar, dairy or grains and is compatible with that plan.

I made a pot of chicken bone broth yesterday from a big, perfectly roasted chicken. Strained it repeatedly, then put it outside on my deck to chill. This morning I skimmed off the fat then simmered it with a few bay leaves. Meanwhile, I chopped the longest cooking vegetables to saute before putting them in the soup pot. 4 celery stalks and 3 medium carrots. While simmering those for 10 minutes or so, separate the fennel bulb from the fluffy fennel fronds and slice the bulb. Put the fronds aside for now.

Chop 1/4 large green pepper, slice-chop the fennel bulb and add both to the pot to simmer while chopping the potatoes, 5 large garlic cloves crushed and minced and snap peas. Stir in 2T± of chicken low-sodium Better Than Bouillon, half-1t black+cayenne pepper blend, 1t Himalayan pink salt, stir then cover and simmer on low. Chop the fennel fronds. Add those and 8oz. roasted chicken chunks. Stir, check the flavors add or balance the seasonings, adding 1-2t dry dill, 1/2 squeezed lemon putting them in the pot. Add water if needed. edit: I froze a quart of this and refrigerated the rest.

edit: When I scooped out some to reheat, the bone broth had gelled perfectly! For some reason this is always unpredictable. I don't vary my technique, nor the basic ingredients, so it must depend on the chicken. The more it gells, the more collagen it contains. Collagen is a very important protein to keep our skin and connective tissues healthy. Our bodies produce less of this as we age, so it's good to find a natural way to supplement. Well-gelled bone broth is an excellent source.

Heat to just bubbling, check doneness of the vegetables.
Ladle into soup bowls and serve. . .Mmmm. . .Happy Spring! .😊. .Lin

Spicy-Healthy Vegetable Soup (gluten & dairy free)

Recently it was Chicken Bone Broth Day for me 😁

Chilled out on my deck overnight, fat scraped off the top, it was begging to be made into something healthy. Made with only skin, bones, bay leaves, 1/3c white vinegar and water, so it would be dog safe for my Oliver as well. This morning I got a call from someone close to me, who is sicker than sick! Alrighty-Then! Healthy soup it is. Sorry Oliver...next time 😉 

The chicken was used in a previous soup, and a 3-meat pasta creation a couple days ago. I didn't have any other meat thawed, so other than the chicken bone broth, this ended up vegetable only. Lighter for someone really sick, so it's actually better this way.

I started by sautéing  chopped carrot and celery in several tablespoons of avocado oil. Then added the rest shown, sliced or chopped, after about 7 minutes. About 1/3 of a medium head of green cabbage, 1/3 of a red pepper, 5 smashed-minced garlic cloves, 1/2 a big purple shallot. Sauté all the vegetables over low-medium heat in the covered pot, stirring often, for another 10 minutes. Measure  3c fresh cold water and add a little of this if needed to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pot. Take the stems off 12oz. fresh baby spinach. Gather this up into a clump and slice very thin. Add this to the pot for the final 5 minutes of simmering. 

Sprinkle the vegetables with seasonings, to taste. I used about 1t ground turmeric, a good shake of ground cayenne pepper, 1-2t of a salt and pepper based garlic and herb seasoning.

Stir, then pour in the rest of the water and 3T± reduced sodium Chicken Better Than Bouillon soup base. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook another 5 minutes or so. 

Heat the big pot, containing 2-3 quarts of bone broth, to a low boil. Stir in 5oz. thin rice noodles and simmer a few minutes. Add the pot of vegetables to the noodles and broth, stir gently to combine, simmer another minute or two and serve. Mmmm, this made about 6 quarts total, for me, and lots to share. . .

Stay Healthy Everyone! . .Lin

Another Version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

Sauté the chopped vegetables together, with the cut up sausage, in a 5 quart soup pot.

Once they start to sizzle, add seasonings, reduce the heat, cover, but continue to stir occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. Add a little water if it starts to stick to the pot.

10oz. apple gouda chicken sausage

1/2 lg. purple onion

1/4 green bell pepper

3 lg. garlic cloves

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

2T butter

1t garlic salt

1t black pepper

Next add the following, then bring to a low boil for another 10 minutes or so. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and continue to cook another 15 minutes.

24oz. chicken bone broth

24oz. fresh cold water

3T+ chicken soup base

4 bay leaves

1 bunch of kale - chopped

3 med. red potatoes - cubed

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

Stir in 1 can cream of potato soup ( or cream of mushroom, asparagus or celery). Check the seasonings and tweak it however necessary.

I added 2t smoked paprika, which gave it a nice smokey depth of flavor. . .Lin

Hungarian (Chicken-Vegetable) Mushroom Soup

I've been hearing so much about Hungarian Mushroom Soup. It sounded so good! I checked a couple recipes, then decided to create my own expanded variation. However, I swapped sour cream for the coconut milk shown in my photos.

In a 4-5 quart pot, sauté the sliced-chopped carrots, celery and onion until they sizzle. Reduce heat, cover, adding just a little of the bone broth if needed.

2T EVOO

2 big carrots

1 med. onion

2 big celery ribs

1/3 lg. green pepper

6c chicken bone broth - add as needed for now

Add these ingredients at this time:

3T Truffle, Parmesan and Black Garlic seasoning

3T Better Than Bouillon - chicken

1T smokey paprika 

4 bay leaves

1/4c sherry cooking wine

1 pound mushrooms - sliced

Sauté for a while, adding a bit of broth to prevent sticking. When the mushrooms start to shrink and brown, add the rest of the bone broth.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, about an hour.

8oz. bite size pieces of roasted chicken

1/4c golden or brown roux

Bring back to a simmer, and let it cook on low, for 10 minutes to thicken the soup and blend the flavors. Remove from the heat and let the soup cool for 45 minutes. Stir in 6oz. sour cream then reheat again just before serving. . .Lin

Orange, Carrot, Sweet Potato, Coconut-Curry Soup

This turned out just as I had hoped it would!

1 lg. sweet potato

3-4 big carrots

1 stalk celery

1/3 lg. red bell pepper

1/2 lg. white or yellow onion

4 big cloves of garlic - minced

2T butter

Peel and cube the sweet potato. Put the cubes in a bowl of salted water to keep the surfaces from oxidizing and turning brown. Rough chop the carrots, celery, pepper and onion. Melt the butter in a 4 quart soup pot then add all the vegetables.

1/2t each salt and pepper

1T pumpkin pie spice

1 to 2T curry powder

Season, stir and sauté 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables start to scent your kitchen. 

Add the bone broth and soup base.

32oz. chicken bone broth

2T chicken Better Than Bouillon

Simmer this, covered, for about a half hour or until the carrots are tender. Blend now with your immersion blender. Check the flavors and add anything it might need.

I added 1T turbinado sugar to bring out the flavors.

If everything is cooked the way you like it, now is the time to turn off the heat and stir in the coconut cream and orange.

1 can coconut cream
zest and juice of 1 navel orange

Serve this with your favorite garnishes. You could use any of these: A little dab of sour cream -or- plain Greek yogurt, pine nuts, sprouted pumpkin seeds, a sprinkle of dry dill. . .Lin

Crawfish and Shrimp Bisque

I love making crawfish bisque!

And. . .as with most of my original recipes, each is quite different from the previous one. For instance, this is the first time I've added shrimp. 

Start by sautéing the chopped vegetables in butter, until they're all snapping and becoming lightly browned.

6T butter

1 big carrot

2 stalks of celery

5 lg. cloves garlic

1/3 red bell pepper

1/2 lg. purple onion

5 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes

Add 4c chicken bone broth, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and chicken Better Than Bouillon to taste.

Blend this with an immersion leaving it a little textured, or smooth if you'd rather.

Simmer this, covered 10-15 minutes on low heat.

Add 2 cans of corn, one drained and one undrained. Check the flavors and make any needed adjustments.

12oz. crawfish
8oz. shrimp—cut into small pieces
chopped celery tops

Add the crawfish, shrimp, celery tops, and simmer another few minutes. If you'd like this thicker, which I decided would be good, this would be the time to add a few tablespoons of browned roux. Bring this to a low simmer so the roux can thicken the bisque. Take this off the heat and let it cool 10 minutes. 

Just before serving, stir in:

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2c half and half

Serve topped with crunchy garlic-parmesan croutons. . .Lin

Blended Potato Vegetable Soup with Romaine

6-8 med. Yukon Gold potatoes
3 big carrots
3 ribs of celery
2 sm. yellow onions
3/4 lg. red bell pepper
2T Moroccan EVOO
2T butter
            2-3T chicken soup base
            1T Sofrito seasoning
            1t black pepper
            1-1/2 quarts chicken bone broth

1 lg. Vidalia onion

2 small bunches of Romaine

Chop-slice the vegetables in the first group. I only used 5 of the potatoes along with the bowl of fingerlings my daughter grew at her house. Sauté in a big pot, in the olive oil and butter.

Stir occasionally, over low-medium heat, until the scent fills your kitchen.

Add seasonings, bay leaves, and bone broth. Simmer, covered 45-60 minutes. Chop and add the Vidalia onion, then blend with your immersion blender.

Stir in the sliced-chopped-washed Romaine, blend again for just a little bit to only break up the long pieces. immer another 10 minutes, take off the heat and cool 30-60 minutes.

I didn't use the half and half. The soup didn't need more liquid. 

Instead I decided to use 1c Spinach-Artichoke-Parmesan dip, which has cream cheese as the first ingredient. Perfect for this soup!

When the soup has cooled enough to touch the bottom of the pot, stir in the dip. Heat again, just until it starts to steam and begins to bubble.

This would be great with crusty sourdough bread. . .Lin

Roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

5 med. tomatoes

1 lg. onion

2 carrots

3 stalks celery (save tops for later)

1 bulb of garlic

2 yellow mini peppers

1/3 lg. poblano pepper

single source EVOO

fresh ground black pepper

a tiny bit of cayenne pepper

garlic-parsley salt

Wash and dry all the vegetables. Cut the rest of the vegetables as shown. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle on the seasonings.

Roast at 400° for 25 minutes, checking and moving the vegetables a couple times. Cool until they're touchable, then peel the tomatoes and pop the garlic cloves out of their paper shells. Put all the vegetables residual oil and liquid into a 4 quart soup pot. The vegetables never actually roasted or charred due to the high moisture content. Stewing would be more accurate! The soup was still really good though.

Add the broth, celery tops and bay leaves. Simmer everything together for about a half hour. 

24oz. vegetable broth or chicken bone broth

chopped celery tops

3 bay leaves

Remove the bay leaves, then smooth everything out with your immersion blender. Taste and make any seasoning adjustments. If it tastes too acidic, add 1-2t sugar. Let this cool a bit then stir in about 1c of sour cream -optional- or leave it just as is.

This would be nice with a grilled cheese sandwich or homemade parmesan croutons. . .Lin

Red Bean and Farro Vegetable Soup

Slice or chop the vegetables into a 6 quart pot. Drizzle with EVOO and sauté until they are just starting to get tender.

1/2 bunch of celery

2-3 big carrots

1/2 green pepper

2/3 lg. yellow onion

1/2 med. green cabbage

4 big cloves garlic

3T single source EVOO

Add the following then simmer, covered, on low heat for an hour.

I used 2± quarts chicken bone broth, not the broth shown

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes and juice

garlic salt, fresh ground black pepper

1-3T powdered chicken soup base

1/2c farro - ancient grain 

2/3c dried red beans that have been cooked

-or- 1-2 cans, drained and rinsed, red beans

After about an hour, check the farro and vegetables for doneness and check the flavors, making any adjustments you'd like in the seasoning. 

This is a great soup for these chilly winter days. . .Lin

Chicken Noodle Soup with Vegetables, and Millet and Brown Rice Ramen Noodles

I bought a whole, organic chicken at our local Co-Op the other day. Roasted it for lunch, while we were at church. Then served it with roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables, homemade ramen and tabouli when my daughter, granddaughter and her boys came over. 

Last night I made bone broth from the skin, ligaments, tendons, bones, filtered water, bay leaves, fresh ground black pepper, garlic-parsley salt, a little white vinegar, and some rough-chopped soup vegetables and greens. After several hours of simmering, I strained it well, then chilled it overnight.

Today, I scraped off the little bit of fat on top of the chilled broth, and added that to my dog's dry food.

To the cold broth I added bay leaves, garlic salt, fresh ground black pepper, about 3 tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon - chicken or vegetable, and simmered that while sautéing the sliced vegetables shown in the first photo. Organic carrots, celery, garlic, purple onion and cabbage. Just before serving - 8oz. roasted chicken.

Carrot and celery first, in a good amount of pure, single source, EVOO, since they take longer. Then purple onion, cabbage, and lots of finely chopped garlic. Those all went into the pot of the lightly simmering, seasoned bone broth, after their initial sauté.  I crunched up the millet and brown rice ramen just a little, and added that to the broth.

Simmer everything until the carrots and celery are the way you like them and the noodles are al denté. Serve with cheddar biscuits, cornbread or a fresh green salad. . .Lin

Healing Vegetable and Bean Soup

I was feeling just awful yesterday after a bad medication reaction. Knowing the power of beans to flush out toxins in our systems, I threw this together quick and had a big bowl. I woke up this morning feeling 100% better. I took my young and older dog on individual walks totaling almost 4 miles. Now I think I'll heat up the rest of this for breakfast 😋

Slice or rough chop the following into a 2 quart pot, then sauté 5 minutes:

1 sm. onion

1 big carrot

2 stalks celery

2 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes

a big handful of frozen green beans

2-3T EVOO

Add:

garlic salt

a pinch of cayenne pepper

fresh ground black pepper

3c homemade bone broth

1 can rinsed-drained black beans

Simmer, covered until the carrots are tender. This would be good with some crusty bread dipped in Balsamic and EVOO.

Soup . . . It's a 24/7 — Year-'Round Thing! . .Lin

Spatchcocked Chicken and Bone Broth

Wash and dry a big pasture raised chicken. Remove the giblets then cut out the backbone using a sharp separated knife and heavy duty kitchen sheers. Flip it over, onto the counter. Press down firmly to crack the breastbone and flatten out the chicken. Put it and the backbone and neck in a roasting pan. Season well and add a couple cups of cold fresh water. Today I used parsley-garlic salt and some Arizona smoked chipotle seasoning for a little smoky-peppery heat.

Cook, uncovered, at 400° for about an hour. Poke and baste it once during that time. After an hour, poke and baste again. Continue to roast until a fork inserted in the thick part of the breast comes out easily.

Let everything cool enough to pull all the meat off the bones. Return all the skin, bones and cartilage to the roasting pan. Add 8 cups of water, 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, 3 green onions, 6 cloves of crushed garlic, roasted garlic and herb seasoning and ground black pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours. It should stay at a very slow bubble the entire time. Throw away the bones, chop the carrot, celery and chicken skin to add to your dog's dry food, but not the onion or garlic.

Strain the broth through successively finer mesh colanders and strainers. At the very end, pour the liquid through an old clean flour sack dishtowel. Heat the broth and pour it into several clean Mason jars. Seal. If the lids 'ping,' they'll keep several months at room temperature. If they don't seal, refrigerate and use within a week or so. I love having roasted chicken ready for new recipes and to share with people. . .Lin

Roasted Chicken Thighs

Roasting chicken is always the first step in a new cooking adventure for me!

After these thighs are cooked, they can be wrapped individually, as is, and frozen, to heat in the future with some steamed vegetables for a quick dinner. Or you might want to bone and skin them, packaging the meat, and  slow-simmer the skin and bones for bone broth. 

 

The meat is great for salads, casseroles, chili, chowder or traditional soup. Chicken is my favorite meat, to eat and cook, especially thighs. The flavor and texture is excellent and it's so versatile. Today I seasoned and roasted these uncovered, for an hour at 375°

I have the skin, bones, bay leaves, black pepper, some celery, carrot and a green pepper top simmering quietly together, in fresh cold water and 1/2c of white vinegar. 

The vinegar helps pull all the beneficial collagen from the bones. In 3-4 hours I'll strain all that then chill it overnight for several quarts of really good homemade bone broth.

I packaged the meat in 4oz. servings to freeze for future use.  One for a dinner, or several for a recipe that uses more.

Tonight I simmer-steamed vegetables in a little EVOO and water. After plating those, I added toasted sesame seeds and 3oz. of the chicken, sautéing in the remaining liquid, just to heat it through.

Happy Chicken Roasting Everyone! . .Lin