What’s your favorite chicken soup recipe?

How to make Jewish chicken soup is one of those things that is handed down through generations,

chicken parts: bones, wings, thighs, feet, hearts, skin in any ratio. Use all the innards expect the liver (or a whole chicken)

2 large carrots, washed, unpeeled, broken into coarse pieces

1 large onion, washed and unpeeled

2 celery stalks, cut into quarters

1 medium parsnip, washed, unpeeled, cut into three pieces

6-8 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, whole

1 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn

Chicken stock

matzo balls (recipe below)

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and add water to cover.

Bring water to boil over medium heat but watch the pot so water never comes to a rolling boil. When the water is just about to boil, turn heat to lowest setting so only a few bubbles break the surface. At this point you may need to skim off some sediment that is on the surface of the soup.

Cover pot and let simmer for 4 hours. (Longer simmering will not hurt soup.)

Remove pot from heat and strain out most of the chicken parts and vegetables. Most of the chicken will be dried out and virtually all the flavor has passed into the liquid so feed the dogs with it. I sometimes add a fresh breast of chicken for a slow simmer in the soup before serving if you like the meat with the soup. I get rid of everything else except the carrots.

Adjust salt to your taste. (or if the chicken isn't quite tasty enough you can always resort to a bit of M&S chicken stock)

Leave the soup overnight in a cold place and take the fat off the top. Leave a bit of fat because it adds to the flavor and there’s something about seeing those shiny, golden globules of chicken fat that make everything worthwhile.

To serve the soup take about 1/4 cup dry vermicelli and cook in salted water. For garnish, coarsely chop fresh parsley. Add these with matzo balls into individual soup bowls.

MATZO BALLS

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1/2 t ground black pepper

3/4 cup matzo meal

2 Tbsp soft butter, oil or chicken fat

Beat eggs, blend in salt, parsley, pepper. Slowly mix matzo meal and butter (or oil or fat) into egg mixture until it forms a dough. This will be a stiff dough, to lighten it add water slowly until it is workable (about 1/4 water).

Shape dough into neat, round 14 to 18 walnut-sized balls, lower them into simmering stock (using chicken bouillon), cover pot and gently for 10 minutes. Drain and add them to the soup.

It should be added that to benefit from Jewish Penicillin, one need not be Jewish.

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded

1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter

2 cups heavy cream

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

I mix it up quite a bit. My current favorite is a spicy thai chicken soup. I also like Mexican style chicken soup and the good old fashioned American chicken soup (not sure what else to call it)

I boil a whole chicken in water(just fill big pot about half way)

Add 3-4 stalks of celery sliced smallish ,

3 carrots peeled and washed , sliced small ( round) ,

1 whole onion cut how you please ALL ^ INGREDIENTS IN when water starts to boil!

When chicken is done (about an hour),take out to cut up how you please

Add the chicken (cut up) back to pot

put 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes (cut them)to pot and egg noodles (i like big noodles)

s/p to taste along with a couple chicken bouillon cubes ;) wait till noodles taste done and bone appetit !

Tasty Chicken Stew and Dumplings

I made this recipe this evening for dinner and it was really good.

This makes a delicious chicken stew with dumplings that are 3-inches across.

Makes 6 servings - 8 cups of stew and 12 dumplings. Time 1 1/2 to 2 hours

CHICKEN STEW:

4 to 6 large Chicken Thighs, uncooked, bone-in, skin-on, fresh or thawed

8 cups of Water

6 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder (or 6 Chicken Bouillon Cubes)

1 Tablespoon Onion Flakes

1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt

1/2 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon Celery seed

1/8 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

3 stalks of Celery, chopped

2 large Carrots, chopped

3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1/2 cup Cold Milk

1 (10 oz) can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

2 Tablespoons of Butter

Add water to a 6-quart dutch oven on the stove top. Add chicken thighs, chicken bouillon powder, onion flakes, onion powder, seasoning salt, poultry seasoning, celery seed and black pepper to the dutch oven.

Bring to a boil and cook until temperature of chicken thighs, near bone, is 175-degrees F., about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove chicken thighs from stew and allow them to cool. Remove bones, skin and other undesireable bits and discard.

Dice remaining cleaned chicken meat and return it to the stew.

Add chopped celery and carrots to stew and boil until they are tender, about 30 minutes.

Use a potato masher to partially mash some of the carrots, celery and chicken meat to thicken stew and enhance flavor.

Remove stew from heat and skim excess fat from top of broth.

Return stew to medium heat and bring to a low boil.

Stir the flour into the cup of cold milk until all lumps are gone and then pour milk mixture into the stew.

Add the can of condensed cream of chicken soup to the stew. Stir in the 2 Tablespoons of butter.

Reduce stew to a simmer. Stir well to combine ingredients.

Allow stew to simmer gently while mixing the dumplings. Prepare Dumpings and add them to the stew using recipe below:

DUMPLINGS:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Chicken Bouillon Powder OR 1 teaspoon of Table Salt

3 Tablespoons Butter, softened

1 cup Milk

In a mixing bowl, stir the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and chicken bouillon powder or salt) together.

Add the butter to the cup of milk and heat the milk/butter until just lukewarm in a microwave (do not over-heat), about 45 seconds to

1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork until batter is smooth. It will look kind of like cottage cheese.

Make sure the stew is gently simmering. Just a light simmer, too much bubbling will break the dumplings apart.

Using a 2-inch cookie dough / ice cream scoop (or 2 large spoons), drop golf-ball-sized dumplings into the simmering stew. It should

make about 12 dumplings. Reduce the heat to low, but still a gently bubbing stew, add cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled

in size, 18 to 20 minutes.

To serve, ladle a dumpling or two into a soup bowl and then fill the bowl with chicken stew.

Serve warm.

Chicken broth, carrots, potatoes, celery, cilantro, chicken thighs, cabbage, onion, and lemon for topping.