Everyone should know how to make chicken soup from scratch. It's the "fix-all" food - from flu, to tummy aches and to just warm you up when it's cold outside.
Sure, you can cheat and you can buy chicken stock from the shop, but it's a special kind of magic when you make everything yourself. I did add a packet of instant chicken soup at the end just to thicken it up a tiny bit, but the ratio was tiny.
So you need to plan this a few days in advance. You are going to need roast chicken pieces, roast veggies, ( to make up the main body of your soup and all those delicious juices at the bottom of the baking tray (that is your chicken stock).
I had a lot of chicken to roast and was fighting with the small oven, so I eventually switched over to the big oven. I've managed to hack it for the purpose of casseroles and basic roasts (I can't bake cakes in it). Only the top element works, but I can get the oven to a high temperature. I just put a big thick baking tray right at the top so that while the heat radiates, I don't risk burning everything before it's cooked.
So I made a tray with roasting veggies and a tray with broccoli and cauliflower. We ate some of the chicken pieces and roast veggies for supper with rice and gravy and I kept the rest for my soup!
When it comes down to making the soup, you can get creative, but this is how I do things.
Chop a few onions
Chop and peel a whole bulb of garlic
sautee at the bottom of your soup pot
- chop carrots and add to your onions and garlic.
You can add mixed herbs and whatever spices you like at this point. We often save the flavour packets from 2 minute noodles and adding a few of those is awesome. I know, I know... msg blablabla...
I then chopped up some butternut and diced some potatoes to bulk up the soup.
I then turned the stove down to a low heat and added half a kettle of water to cover everything in the pot.
Then, I went over to my trays of leftover roast chicken thighs and veggies and deboned chicken.
I also had a separate pot of chicken stock, thanks to a curry I made the other night. I cut raw chicken off the bone, which was a pain and lots of meat was left behind. So, I boiled the leftover meaty chicken bones ( a day or two in advance of making my soup) and then left it to simmer to extract all the flavour and chickenness. I kept this in the fridge and then reheated it to extract any extra flavour that may have been inside the bones. I deboned this as well and used the chicken and the stock water to add to my soup.
I then put all the deboned chicken, chicken stock and leftover roasting veggies into my soup pot.
I took a packet of instant chicken soup and mixed it with a cup of water.
I also added a packet of frozen and chopped mushrooms.
I then added another half a kettle of water, put the lid on the pot, and let everything simmer on a low heat for around four hours.
The result was magical.
I normally hide a little cheese at the bottom of each bowl which can be discovered once all the soup has been eaten. Who in this world wouldn't get excited by bonus melted cheese?
So there you have it! A giant pot of soup that can feed a family of 5 people for at least two full meals: made from a casserole which was a meal on its own! Economical, nutritious, and delicious. Happy tummies all around!
🍲🥫🍞❤️👩❤️👩👨❤️👨🥰
