It's the beginning of fall and not a frost in the forecast -- and we've already had colds at our house. So, tonight I made our first batch of our favorite chicken soup. It's hearty, flavorful and full of the goodness we need to fight off or recover from cold weather germs. We make a pot of this soup weekly and have the leftovers for lunch. It travels well in a thermos to school or work, as well.
We roast a chicken on Sunday nights during the colder months, so there are always two key ingredients on-hand: left-over chicken and bone broth (which has many health benefits). We make an organic chicken and vegetable soup, adding pasta when served. Additionally, we have two secret ingredients, which I've listed at the bottom of this post.
I've been making this for SO long, and I basically do everything by eye. Make it once, and it will be a super easy recipe you can do in your sleep. So haul out your Dutch oven or giant soup pot and let's do this.
Ingredients
5-6 cloves of garlic, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cabbage, diced
1 large parsnip, sliced (or 2 turnips, or both, if you prefer)
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
10 cups of bone broth (or enough to fill your pot 3/4 full)
1T fresh thyme
1-2T Himalayan or another mineral-rich salt (adjust to how salty your broth is already)
Fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
Add a splash of olive oil to your pan and heat for a moment before adding the garlic and onion. Saute and stir until the edges of the onion become translucent. Add your cabbage and stir, letting the flavors incorporate for a minute or two. Add the rest of your vegetables and stir. Then add bone broth until your pot is 3/4 full. Add the salt.
Stir to incorporate and then simmer on low heat while you chop the thyme leaves finely. Add the thyme and chopped chicken to the pot and stir. Let the soup simmer on low, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are fully cooked.
Serve with cooked noodles and garnish with fresh parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.
*Ingredients we add for extra nutritional and immune support:
2 scoops of pasture-raised beef gelatin (for healthy digestion, bones, hair and skin). Be sure to add once the soup is hot.
1-2T of dulse seaweed (boosts immunity, improves digestion, strengthens nervous system). Added at the end so the dulse flavor doesn't strongly come through in the soup.