Chicken Soup for healing

 

Christmas 2021 and there are many families sick around us. I've been sick for a week and a half. I look forward to the days when there is no more sickness to take away the joy and fun of the season. 

To combat sickness we try Echinacea tea, Elderberry gummies, Green smoothies, Lemon juice and Honey, Throat Coat tea, and good ol' Chicken Noodle Soup. Or just chicken soup. I don't actually like putting noodles in it because they swell up too big and absorb all the broth. I prefer to just crumble saltine crackers into it. 

I don't have a recipe, but here's how I build it:

Wash a whole chicken and then put it in a large pot of pure water to boil for 3 to 8 hours. (You could use an Instantpot too under pressure for about an hour). Let cool enough that you can remove it from the water it was cooking in, put it in a 9x13 pan and set aside to cool more. Strain the broth, and then return it to the pot and heat on stove to simmer.  Add to it some minced garlic cloves, celery, carrots, green onions, herbs, salt and pepper. (For herbs try bay leaf, thyme, or parsley).

When chicken is cool enough, take all the meat off the bones, chop roughly, and add to soup pot.  Check seasonings and let this simmer 30 minutes. 

When ready to serve, add in noodles, if desired. Wide egg noodles or little noodles- any kind will do as long as you have enough broth. As soon as noodles are done, serve soup with Saltine crackers or bread. 

If you'd like it to be a creamy chicken noodle soup, make a slurry of corn starch and heavy cream and whisk in to the soup.