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 

Easter Dinner ~ Vegetables, Chicken and Beef

6 Roma tomatoes
1½# Brussels sprouts
1 lg. purple onion
1 Anaheim pepper
1-2# baby red potatoes
1½# multi-colored carrots

3-4T good quality cooking oil

2-3T white balsamic vinegar

2T The Gourmet Collection ~ Lemon Pepper Spice Blend

Scrub all the vegetables, cut into similar size pieces so they all get done at the same time.  Drizzle with oil and vinegar, sprinkle with the seasoning, toss and let marinate for a couple hours.  Bake covered for a half hour at 375°.  Uncover, toss vegetables and bake another half hour.

3# beef roast

6 boneless-skinless chicken thighs

1lg. bulb of garlic with large cloves

2 pkgs. onion or beefy onion soup 

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ soup can of white wine

½ soup can of water

Cut ALL the fat off the beef and chicken.  Cut the beef roast into 3 pieces to cook evenly, or leave as 1 so the center is less done.  Put all the meat into a medium roasting pan, with garlic cloves on top.  Combine the soups, wine and water then pour over all the meat.  Bake an hour, along with the vegetables.

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My Duluth Family is coming over later for our Easter dinner.  We'll have this with the Potato-Pea Soup I made the other day.  I found some mini French bread rolls to go with the soup when I bought a Lemon Cream Meringue pie for our dessert, at our local Co-Op.  I'll also open a jar of the Kimchi I made a couple weeks ago.  Mmmm, odd assortment, but I think it'll work 😋 Hope all of you have/had a Happy Easter! . . . Lin

Chicken and Red Bean Soup

⅓c small red beans

4 chicken thighs

3 lg. carrots

2-3c sliced celery

6 lg. cloves garlic

4 lg. green onions

¼c sliced purple onion

1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1-1½c dry white wine

bay leaves, Italian seasonings

garlic sea salt, fresh ground lemon pepper

Put the beans and a couple cups of cold water in a pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain, rinse and repeat.  Do this 2-3 times until the beans are just barely tender.  Skin the chicken, wash it in cool water and cut off all the fat.  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and set aside.  

Slice, chop or dice the vegetables into a 3-5 quart pot.  Drizzle with just a little olive oil, stir then saute until the vegetables are scenting your kitchen.  Add the tomatoes, and wine.  I added only a little fresh ground lemon pepper.  The vegetables created so much flavor on their own!  Cover and simmer on low heat, adding a little water if needed and any herbs or seasoning you'd like.  Add chicken and beans, cover and simmer 30-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked, the beans are done and your kitchen smells heavenly. . .Lin