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Tag Archive for: roasted chicken

Healing Chicken Soup Recipe

General, Recipes, Soup
Healing Chicken Soup Recipe

This is just your basic chicken soup recipe, but when each component is carefully prepared from the roasting of the chicken, to the making of the stock, to the preparation and addition of other ingredients like the soaked barley, it is truly a masterpiece. I like to make some sort of soup every other week or so (especially during the cold months) because it makes a great “go to” lunch, dinner, breakfast, or snack. Whenever I am too busy to prepare a meal or feel hungry and tempted to eat a pile of cookies or go to McDonalds, I just put my soup on the stove and minutes later I have a nice, delicious, healthy, and nourishing meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole roasted chicken (4-5 pounds, preferably pastured)
  • Bone broth (If you’re in a pinch, you could also use bullion cubes and water.)
  • 2 cups soaked barley -or-
    • 1½ cups basmati rice
    • 3 8 oz cans garbanzo and butter beans (or 3 cups dry beans, soak overnight)
  • 2 carrots (cut in half then sliced in ¼ chunks)
  • 4 celery stalks (sliced in ¼ chunks)
  • 1 medium onion (sliced and diced)
  • 3 teaspoons Real Salt (add to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon pepper (add to taste)
  • Optional: I like to add variety to my soup, so sometimes I’ll add a few garlic cloves, 1 cup chopped leeks, 1 cup chopped bok choy, and/or whatever else is leftover in my fridge that could be chopped up and sounds like it would be good in soup  like zucchini, broccoli, parsley, or green beans.

Directions

  1. Bake the chicken. Check out my roasted chicken recipe here, but basically, you’re going to season your 4-5 pound chicken (I use garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and throw a stick of butter in the cavity) and bake at 350° F for 1.5 hours.

    roast chicken

    Roast Chicken

  2. Cut it up. Let the chicken cool, cut it off the bone, and leave to soak in its own juices.
  3. Make your bone broth. Read more about making bone broth here, but basically, you’re going to low boil your bones, skin, etc. with cold filtered water and a dash of apple cider vinegar (to draw out the minerals) for 24-36 hours (or at least overnight). Then, drain the broth and use it for your stock. I like using a large 7 quart pot for making my broth so that I can use half for my soup and freeze the other half for later use.

    straining the broth

    Straining the Bone Broth

  4. *Pre-cook the veggies. This is an optional step because you can certainly just cook the veggies in the soup, but it adds a TON of flavor. In a large wok, melt some butter then add minced garlic and diced onion, then add whatever vegetables you are using. Season with a bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos, Real Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano powder, and basil powder and cook (covered and stirring often) until wilted but still firm (about 8 minutes).
  5. Add the veggies and chicken, then pour the broth over. By adding the veggies and chicken first, you ensure that you don’t add too much broth!

    Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks

    Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks

  6. Add your starch. If you’re trying to eliminate starches, you don’t have to add them, but I think it makes the soup taste more complete. If you’re going to soak your barley (which gets rid of phytic acid), make sure you do it properly, especially by rinsing and draining it enough (otherwise your soup will be really cloudy). If you’re in a hurry, you can just go with some quick barley. Barley is the healthiest option, but to mix it up, I like to either add beans (like butter beans and garbanzo beans) or some basmati rice (which has the least amount of arsenic and no phytic acid).

    chicken soup over rice

    Chicken Soup Over Rice

  7. Bring to a low boil. If all of your ingredients are pre-cooked, you’ll just want to bring it to a slow boil (keep it at about a 3-4, low-medium heat) until it boils, then turn it off and leave it covered. If you need to cook your veggies, turn it down to a rolling boil (keep at about a 3) for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are soft but still firm and the starch is tender.
  8. Salt and pepper to taste. I like to wait until all of the flavors have had a chance to simmer together before adding my salt and pepper. Then, I’ll add a bit at a time, stir, taste, and repeat until the flavor is just right!
  9. Enjoy! When everything is just right, get out your bowls and enjoy some soup! It’s also really good to serve some piping hot sourdough muffins with this meal.

    Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks

    Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks

In Conclusion

Chicken soup make with organic, pasture raised chickens using properly prepared broth and grains is just about one of the healthiest meals you can eat. I love making a pot whether it’s summer or winter for a nourishing go to meal that can last my family through the week. Read more of my soup recipes here or my chicken recipes here.

August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/chicken-soup.png 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2016-08-23 13:10:292020-11-20 14:42:42Healing Chicken Soup Recipe

How to Make the Best Roasted Chicken

Chicken, General
How to Make the Best Roasted Chicken

This is a very basic recipe for roasted chicken, but sometimes the best meals stem from simplicity. I like to make a roasted chicken about once a week. My kids love eating it cut up into bite size chunks when it’s fresh out of the oven, and my husband always gets first dibs on the legs! After I pick all of the meat off, I’ll boil the bones to make chicken stock and the extra chicken will either go into a pot of soup, or I’ll use it for some other meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 4-5 pound chicken (Organic and pastured is best, look for a local farmer, or check it our here.)
  • 1 stick butter (Pastured butter like Kerrygold is the best!)
  • 1 teaspoon Real Salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano powder
  • 1 teaspoon basil powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder 

Directions

  1. Thaw the chicken. If the chicken is frozen, try to remember to put it in the fridge for a day or two until it thaws out. If you’re in a pinch, fill the sink up with warm water and let it soak for an hour. (Don’t try to cook the chicken frozen!)
  2. Get the oven ready. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  3. Prepare the chicken. Once the chicken is thawed, pull out the giblets (I throw them away), rinse with cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a roasting pan. (I like using a glass pan).
  4. Season. Sprinkle the seasonings generously all over the chicken, especially inside the cavity. I actually never measure my seasonings, I just try to coat the chicken evenly.
  5. Butter. Put the stick of butter inside the cavity of the chicken. (You could also rub some of the butter into the skin of the chicken. Just do it before you add the seasonings.) *Butter is not to be feared as we have so previously and erroneously thought. Read more here.)

    raw chicken with seasonings stuffed with butter in glass pan ready to be cooked

    Seasoned Whole Chicken Ready to be Cooked

  6. Bake. Bake at 350˚F for 1½ hours.

    roast chicken

    Roasted Chicken

  7. Let cool. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting. (This gives the juices a chance to settle in.) If you notice that the juice is really pink or that the chicken is still pink, cook for another 20 minutes and check again. If you’re the type who likes to check the internal temperature, it should read 165˚F.
  8. Cut into pieces. Peal the skin back and cut horizontal lines in the breast followed by vertical lines. (Save the skin for your bone broth!) Then cut down at an angle until you get big chunks of breast meat falling off the bone.

    pre-cut chicken breast on a cooked roasted chicken in a glass pan

    Pre-Cut Chicken Breast from a Roasted Chicken

  9. Soak the meat in the juice. Let these chunks of meat soak in the juice of the chicken. Cut the rest of the meat off the bones as much as possible. (To remove the chicken legs, find where the two bones connect and gently saw through the cartilage.) Leave the legs and wings intact if it suits your fancy. (My chicken legs never make it past my husband; they’re his favorite part!) Let all of the meat soak in the juice, sprinkle with a fresh bit of salt, and serve!

    roasted chicken breast meat cut up and soaking in juices legs cut off

    Roasted Chicken Meat Cut and Ready to Serve

  10. Save the scraps. Save the bones, skin, and all other remnants to make a healing chicken broth and/or use the chicken (and all of the juice of course) to make some delicious chicken soup!

Variations:

You can use any combination of the following variations. Try a few things out. See what you like and don’t like. Get creative and try something new!

  • Cut a lemon in half, gently squeeze both halves into the cavity of the chicken, and place both halves in there as well.
  • Peel some garlic cloves (about 4-6 nice sized ones) and place them in the cavity of the chicken.
  • Use rosemary, salt, and pepper only.
  • Chop up some big chunks of onion and place them around the chicken.
  • Cut up some potatoes (or leave them whole) and place them around the chicken.
  • Cut up some carrots and celery into big chunks and place them around the chicken.
August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser
https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Roast-Chicken-Recipe.jpg 400 810 Stacey Maaser https://embracing-motherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EM_Logo.png Stacey Maaser2016-08-23 13:10:212020-11-18 15:52:21How to Make the Best Roasted Chicken

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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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