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Tag Archive for: chicken stock

How to Make a Nourishing Chicken Bone Broth

General, Soup
How to Make a Nourishing Chicken Bone Broth2018

Making a good chicken bone broth (or chicken stock as it is also called) is one of the simplest and most nourishing things you can make. You can use it immediately to make some chicken soup, put it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it to use later, freeze it in ice cube trays to have little bursts of “bullion” to use whenever you need it, or you can simply sip a nice hot mug of it instead of coffee or as a snack/meal replacement.

Health Benefits of Chicken Broth

I love making soup of any kind because it provides a nice complete meal that can feed my family at a moment’s notice for the week, but I especially like making any kind of soup with chicken bone broth because it is pretty much the most healing and most nutritious food there is.

Chicken bone broth is easy to both digest and metabolize (two things that are very different yet people think are the same…I’ll be exploring this in more depth at a later time). This makes it perfect the perfect food when you are trying to heal from any chronic illness or are sick with the flu or the common cold.

During digestion, the gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid that attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, which helps to support proper digestion. In her book, Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon also states that chicken soup,

“Has a natural ingredient which feeds, repairs and calms the mucous lining in the small intestine. This inner lining is the beginning or ending of the nervous system. It is easily pulled away from the intestine through too many laxatives, too many additives…and parasites.”

Chicken broth also contains valuable minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur chondroitin, glucosamine, and a variety of trace minerals that are in a form your body can easily absorb. When your body is healing, you NEED these nutrients from nutrient dense food to heal.

Another cool thing about bone broth is that because of the anti-inflammatory acids such as arginine, it helps to inhibit infection caused by cold and flu viruses. In her article, Broth is Beautiful, Sally Fallon explains,

“Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.”

My Recipe

Ok, so are you ready to make some broth? For such a simple meal, there sure are a lot of different recipes for bone broth. With four young children underfoot, I like to cook food that’s as nutritious as possible as simply as possible. This is why I don’t add anything (except apple cider vinegar, which helps to draw out the minerals) to my bone broth. You can surely get creative and add whatever you’d like, but if you’re looking for simple, you’ve come to the right place!

Ingredients

  • 1 4-5 pound whole roasted chicken (Preferably organic and pastured, the stock will not gel properly with a battery-raised chicken.)
  • One large pot
  • Cold filtered water
  • 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (This pulls the minerals, especially calcium, out of the chicken bones.)
  • *Optional: Carrot tops and pieces, celery stalks and leaves, onion skins and onion, parsley, and salt (I usually don’t add any of these ingredients except the salt, and I wait to add that at then end so that I can salt it to my taste preference. If you’re going to add parsley, wait until the very end.)
  • Advanced: Chicken feet (Provides a more gelatinous broth.)

Directions

  1. Roast your chicken. You can read more about my roasted chicken here, but basically, I stuff mine with a stick of butter and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano powder, basil powder, and bake at 350° F for 1.5 hours.

    roast chicken

    Roast Chicken

  2. Pick off the meat. I like to cut my breasts into cubes before cutting off the bone. Then I methodically pick off all usable pieces of meat, cut into bite size pieces, leave all pieces to soak in the remaining chicken juice, cover, and store in the refrigerator until the next day.

    Pick the Meat Off the Bones

    Pick the Meat Off the Bones

  3. Save all skin, bones, and other parts. I do typically discard the giblets (unless my cats want to eat them), but other than that, every last little scrap goes into my pot including the carcass, bones, skin, and any other little tidbits. I also like to leave just a titch of meat on the bones for extra flavor.

    Save ALL of Your Chicken Scraps

    Save ALL of Your Chicken Scraps

  4. Cover with water. After filling the pot with your chicken scraps, fill to just about the brim with cold filtered water.

    Chicken Bits Covered with Water

    Chicken Bits Covered with Water

  5. Add the apple cider vinegar. You have to be careful that you don’t add too much or you will really taste it. You might want to start with just a teaspoon and adjust to taste. Even though 2 tablespoons would be most effective, I usually only add about a teaspoon because that’s the flavor I like.
  6. Slow boil. Bring the water to a slow boil and skim any scum that comes to the top. (These are impurities.)
  7. Cover and simmer. Cover and reduce to a low rolling boil. (On my stove, this usually hovers around a 2 or 3.) Ideally, you’ll want it to simmer for a good 24-36 hours for the maximum benefit, but at the very least, just let it simmer overnight.

    bone broth cooling

    Bone Broth Cooling

  8. Cool and strain. Turn off the burner, let it cool, then strain into a separate bowl through a colander. You’ll notice that the bones will be soft and break apart easily. *Do not feed them to any animals, it will tear up their insides.

    straining the broth

    Straining the Broth

  9. Enjoy! Time to put your broth to use.
    • Chicken Soup: Add some chicken, celery, carrots, and soaked barely to make a simple chicken soup.

      Chicken Soup Bowl

      Chicken Soup

    • Egg Drop Soup: Bring it to a boil, add some Bragg Liquid Aminos, Sriracha, and eggs to make an egg drop soup to die for.

      egg drop soup

      Egg Drop Soup

    • Store in the Freezer: Store your stock in Ziploc bags in the freezer. (Just be sure to lay them flat instead of plopping them on a rack where they will freeze while seeping through the cracks and then rip open when you try to take it out later….um, personal experience!)
    • Freeze into Cubes: Freeze in ice cube trays to save for smaller size portions to use instead of those MSG laden “bullion cubes”.
    • Sip It: Pour into a mug to sip on. Sometimes, I like adding some Bragg Liquid Aminos and Sriracha for a spicy oriental flavor!

      Bone Broth in a Mug

      Bone Broth in a Mug

In Conclusion

If there is one food that you could add to your family’s meal plan that would make the most difference, I would say that bone broth is in the top ten for sure! If you’re not much of a cook, don’t worry! You can hardly get this recipe wrong! If you are, there are certainly a lot of variations you could try to make this a gourmet dish. As we enter another cold winter season full of viruses, I’m sure that I’ll be finding ways to incorporate this bone broth into our diets on a regular basis.

See more ideas for what to make with this broth in my soup section.

August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/bone-broth.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2016-08-23 10:10:262020-11-20 14:44:52How to Make a Nourishing Chicken Bone Broth

How to Make Panera Bread Style Broccoli and Cheese Soup

General, Recipes, Soup
Embracing Motherhood Panera Bread Style Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I love, love, LOVE  broccoli and cheese soup, especially the Panera Bread style of broccoli and cheese soup that is all puréed and creamy. Since I’m not going to run out to Panera Bread every time that I want some of this delicious soup, I decided to make my own. I searched the Internet for copycat recipes and compiled my favorite parts into this recipe which includes all of the wholesome ingredients I love cooking with such as bone broth, raw milk, and organic vegetables!

Ingredients

  • 2 c. Chicken Stock (I always like making extra and keeping some in the freezer, but you might need to roast a chicken to make some fresh. If you do this, you could even purée some chicken to throw into the mix to make it an even heartier soup.)

    Frozen Chicken Stock

    Frozen Chicken Stock

  • 2 c. Raw Milk (I like letting the cream rise to the top and using that mostly, or I’ll get some organic half and half from the store.)
  • ¼ c. Flour (I like mine freshly ground.)
  • 1 Stick of Butter (½ c.) plus 2 T. (to sauté the onions)
  • 2½ c. Shredded Cheese (I like Colby Jack)
  • 1 Onion
  • 3 Pods of Garlic
  • 2 Head of Broccoli (Or you can substitute with 2 c. of other vegetables such as carrots and celery.)

Directions

  1. Sauté the 2 T. of butter with the garlic and onion. I like peeling the garlic (crush with the side of your knife first for easy peeling) and mincing it with a knife or my handy dandy hand chopper (if I feel like cleaning it). You’ll be puréeing all of this later, so don’t worry about chopping it up super fine. Cook at a low to medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside until later. (I put mine in a little bowl because I always need my cast iron skillet available!)

    Sautéd Onions and Garlic

    Sautéd Onions and Garlic

  2. Steam all of the vegetables. By steaming the vegetables first, it will make them a lot easier to blend later! (*Note: When making this recipe, my sister skipped this steaming step by using her food processor to chop up all of the vegetables raw. She said it turned out great!) Coarsely chop up the broccoli (and the carrots and celery if you’ll be using them) and steam. Check out my tips and tricks for perfectly steamed broccoli here! Put in a big bowl to cool. *My steamer isn’t very big and I made a double recipe, so it took two batches of broccoli and one batch of carrots and celery to get the job done.
    Steamed Broccoli

    Steamed Broccoli

    Steamed Carrots and Celery

    Steamed Carrots and Celery

  3. Make the roux. Melt the stick of butter in your soup pot. Once it’s melted, add the flour and stir. Cook at low to medium heat (nice and bubbly) and continue stirring for about 3-4 minutes.

    Roux

    Roux

  4. Add the milk. Add slowly, stir often, and keep at a low to medium heat.
  5. Purée the vegetables with the chicken stock. While the milk is heating up, add small batches of steamed vegetables into the blender. I like blending my onions (that we set aside from earlier) too. Top off the blender with the chicken stock to make it blend easier. Add to the soup pot.
    Steamed Broccoli, Carrots, and Celery with Chicken Stock Ready to Blend

    Steamed Broccoli, Carrots, and Celery with Chicken Stock

    Turn the blender off and on repeatedly so that it is puréed, but blended as little as possible if you’re like me and want there to be a few little chunks in there to chew on!

    Pulse on Low

    Pulse on Low

  6. Add the cheese. Wait until the soup is good and hot before you add the cheese. You want it to melt right away.
  7. Cook for 20 minutes. Cook on a low to medium heat and continue to stir often. If it starts to bubble, turn the heat down a little bit. Let cool and serve. I find that this soup tastes better the longer it sits. This gives everything a chance to thicken and the flavors to really soak in.

    broccoli and cheese soup

    Broccoli and Cheese Soup

December 8, 2015/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/broccoli-and-cheese-soup.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2015-12-08 12:23:492020-11-20 15:43:17How to Make Panera Bread Style Broccoli and Cheese Soup

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Stacey Maaser

Stacey Maaser author of Embracing Motherhood

Author of Embracing Motherhood

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Hi, I’m Stacey Maaser,

author of Embracing Motherhood! I am a stay at home mother of 5 with 7 years of teaching experience and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I am passionate about teaching my children, feeding them healthy food, learning the truth about things (not just what is popular opinion or counter culture), and sharing what I’ve learned and experienced with others. Thanks for stopping by!

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