Basic Chicken Stock

No nourishing household should be without this powerhouse of a simple nourishing food. It takes some planning and some being home but otherwise is not time-consuming and so rewarding. By simmering a whole chicken all day you are making the most of this animal because you are getting all the minerals out of the chickens bones and all the gelatin out of the cartilage. Home-made Chicken broth is the number one source for non-dairy calcium. If you are sick you absolutely have to have home-made broth to recover quickly and that is not the time to start making it, so having some on hand is a good insurance especially in the winter. Homemade broth is a better alternative to gatorade when you need to replenish electrolytes. So here is the recipe. It will be second nature before too long and routine in your life and you won't want to miss the flavor of soups made with real chicken stock.



1 whole chicken, preferrably organic or local pasture-raised, can be cut up

1 onion

2 carrots

3 stalks celery

4-5 quarts water

vinegar and parsley, optional



You will need a fairly big stock pot for this. Cut the chicken apart into legs, arms, wings. Don't add the giblets, but do add the neck. Pour in the water. For a small chicken I use 4 quarts for a bigger one 5 quarts. It's up to you. Chop up the vegetables and add to water. At this point if you want to fine-tune you add a shot of vinegar which pulls the minerals out of the bones more. Bring to a boil and simmer 6-24 hours. The longer the better for taste and mineral content. If you want to fine-tune again add a bunch of fresh parsley for the last ten minutes before turning it off. It adds some more nutrients (I forgot which ones).

I usually take the chicken meat off after 2-3 hours and return the rest of the bones etc. into the pot to cook. Now you have some wonderful cooked chicken for chicken salad, enchiladas, quesedillas, soups or whatever recipe uses cooked chicken.

Favorite Tomato Soup

5-6 lbs tomatoes (about 16 medium)
2 small onions, chopped
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Sea salt
1 quart chicken broth
3 basil leaves, chopped (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)

Put all ingredients into a stockpot. Boil uncovered for 20 min. or til tomatoes fall apart. Strain through fine sieve. Enjoy!

Is't that easy? And so delicious and nourishing! I have also canned the recipe. But you need to add lemon juice to the jars (I think its 4 tsp per quart, 2 for pints) and the processing is 35 minutes I think. Don't quote me on that. I have read different things since soup is not often listed for canning and with the broth it has a small amount of fat in it. According to my research the fat is not an issue in such small amounts.

Anyway, if you don't can it, it is still worth the effort. You can halve the recipe or freeze it. I can alot of pints and use it in recipes instead of campbell's. Works wonderful. Let's see if I can can enough this year to avoid using Campbells....

Chicken Bean Soup

I came up with this soup today by looking at two different recipes and it was a hit.

1 quart chicken broth (homemade)
(1 cup cooked chicken (such as taken from the broth chicken parts), optional)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans navy beans
Basil to taste (fresh or dried)
Salt to taste (takes 1 tsp. for homemade unsalted chicken stock)
Onion, chopped
Butter

Saute onion in butter til tender. Add broth and other ingredients. Simmer and serve.

Chicken Broth

1 whole free-range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings*
gizzards from one chicken (optional)
2-4 chicken feet (optional)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley
(*Note: Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many battery-raised chickens will not produce stock that gels.)

If you are using a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces. (If you are using a whole chicken, remove the neck and wings and cut them into several pieces.) Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.
Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

This recipe is taken directly from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon the Weston A. Price Foundation president. It sounds more complicated than it is. In a pinch, don't worry about letting it sit for an hour, or adding parsley. Great if you can but don't get bent out of shape if you don't have time for that. You can cook the broth for longer than 8 hours too, it gets more flavorful over time. Some people cook it for days....But I take the chicken meat off after 2-3 hours and then let the rest cook til the end. When the broth is all done and I have strained it and cooled it and taken the fat off, I use part of it to make soup and the rest I measure into 1 and 2 cup portions and freeze it in plastic freezer containers. When they are frozen, I pop them out and put them in large ziplock bags. That way they are always ready to go.

I do buy store chicken sometimes, the best I can find, and it works out ok. I guess J&B sells chickens from Hawley that may be a better bet. They are in the long open freezer diplays and reasonably priced.

Good luck with the broth.

Flag soup

This recipe is so simple, yet so amazingly delicious I could eat it every day of the year. I even eat it in the summer and take it on camping trips. Everyone who eats it wants the recipe. I hope you love it too.

3 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 quarts chicken broth
3 pounds all purpose potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes

In a deep pot, saute garlic and onion in butter or oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth and bring liquid to a boil. As you slice potatoes, add them carefully to the broth. Cook potatoes 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes will begin to break up and thicken broth as the soup cooks. Stir in spinach in bunches as it wilts into soup. Season soup with salt and pepper, to your taste. Stir in tomatoes and heat through, 1 or 2 minutes.


Note: This is originally a Rachel Ray recipe. I never measure potatoes or spinach, just use what I like. The original recipe called for 28 oz. tomatoes but I like the 15 oz. Btw, it is called flag soup because it has the colors of the Italian Flag in it, Rachel's heritage country!

Irish Leek Soup

2-4 Leeks
1 medium onion
4-6 medium potatoes ( I prefer yukon gold)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Quart chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut leeks into 1/2 inch slices, chop onion, peel and dice potatoes. In large pot melt butter, add leeks and onions and cook covered til tender. Add potatoes and broth. Simmer, covered for 40 minutes. Add sour cream and heat to serve. Do not boil.

Note: Last time I made it I just had one jumbo organic leek, I mean mega big, probably as large around as a tennis ball or more. I just used that and we like it heavy on the potatoes, I usually eyeball it when I see how many are in the pot and adjust. It came out the best ever on this last batch.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (Substitute)

Don't be intimidated. Once you have the trick down it is really fast and easy. Give yourself a few tries to get it right and then you will not want to go back to the store stuff!


4 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt or more to taste
12 fresh mushrooms, chopped small
2 cups of milk or cream (or a combination of both)

Heat butter, then add flour and salt, stirring to make a roux. Add mushrooms and cook a couple of minutes, just to soften. Add milk and stir until thickened.

To make cream of chicken, omit mushrooms, substitute half the milk with chicken broth or stock.

To make cream of celery, substitute celery for the mushrooms and proceed as listed above.
Yield: equals 2 10 oz cans

So this recipe makes twice as much as you need if you are substituting for one can of condensed soup.

Note: If you want to use this in a crockpot recipe I would suggest using only cream, not milk, as milk tends to separate during long cooking.