Cooking Kids

Chicken soup is the most requested recipe in this house when someone gets sick. In fact, my son just had a stomach flu and really wanted some. I didn’t have any. I had made a batch the week before with plans to freeze it, but we ate it all. He had to settle for chicken broth out of a box with some ramen noodles. It reminded me why it’s so important to have frozen chicken soup on hand. So here’s our recipe for getting a batch of chicken soup ready for freezing.

1 cooked whole chicken (I cook a 4-5lb smaller roasting chicken, we eat it for dinner, then I save what’s left on a plate)

Chopped onion

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Poultry seasoning

Parsley

Ground cayenne

Black pepper

Chicken bouillon cubes

1 box of chicken broth

Fill a dutch oven a little more than half full with water. Put it on the stove to boil. Take all the skin off the chicken and put the chicken in the pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Remove the chicken and pull all the chicken off the bones, pull it apart with your fingers and put it back into the pot of water. Put this in the fridge over night. In the morning, skim all the fat off the top with a mesh strainer. Put the mixture on the stove to boil. While heating up the chicken and water, chop onions and parsley (or use dried parsley). Add it to the water. Put a small amount of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning and black pepper into the water. I average about 1tsp. to a 1/2 tsp., depending on the spice. Pour in the chicken broth and about 6-8 bouillon cubes. Stir a minute or so once mixture boils. Let the broth simmer 30 minutes or so until the onions are tender and the flavors have blended. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Pour into a container and freeze. You can freeze in portions or in a large container. When ready to serve for dinner, or to a sick child, thaw slightly and put in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil while adding your favorite vegetables. I cook any noodles or rice separate from the broth so that it doesn’t soak up all the broth. You don’t even have to add anything if you don’t want to, or you can bring it to a boil and top with dumplings. No matter what you do, having frozen chicken soup on hand means you can have a hearty homemade supper, or cold remedy, in 30 minutes during the winter.

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