Chicken Stock

Fall weather has arrived! That accompanied by many germs and bugs jumping on our family has prompted a good ol' home remedy--chicken soup. This is a good thing to prep during naps and then let simmer all afternoon to be ready for dinner. Super easy to get the meat out for soup and save a step.

Chicken Stock

2 onions, quartered

1 turnip, quartered

1 head garlic, halved

4 carrots, unpeeled and cut in large chunks

2 celer, cut large, can use leaves

small bunch thyme

small bunch parsley

1 tsp whole peppercorns

1 chicken, 3-4 lbs cut in half

Throw it all in a big pot and cover with cold water (approx 2 1/2 quarts?). Cover and bring to a simmer slowly on low heat and cook 1- 1 1/2 hours until chicken is done. REmove chicken to rimmed baking sheet and let cool until you can pull the meat away from bones.

When cool, remove chicken meat from bones and place in a med bowl/gladware. Add a few spoonfuls of stock to keep moist and refrigerate until you make soup. Return bones to stock and continue to cook for 3-4 hours.

Strain stock into a large bowl and compost all the discard (minus chick bones). Skim fat from top as it cools. Place in ice bath to cool before refrigerating if you're not making soup.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 c wild rice blend

2 c water

1 tbsp butter

2 quarts chicken stock

4+ carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, diced small

1 onion, diced

1 turnip, diced

1 potato, diced

1 C frozen peas

1 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp+ salt

pepper

Prepare rice as directed (it takes 50 minutes so do it first while you chop and prepare the rest).

Wipe out stock pot and add 1 tsp canola oil. Sweat onion and celery. Add carrot and turnip cook 5 min. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 min, add potato. Simmer 15 min. Cube chicken. Add chick, peas, and parsley and simmer 5-10 more until peas are cooked.

Rice is a wild card here. It could soak up all your broth if you add it too early so just mix it in when you're ready to serve. If it does soak up your goodness, just add more stock and adjust seasonings. For leftovers, store rice separately.