Chicken Soup

I wish I had a better camera. Then maybe my food would look mildly appetizing on here! But I feel some imagery is better than none, so until I can afford something better... thats what youre gonna get! ;-) But trust me when I say this soup was really pretty.. with the bright orange carrots and delicate little parsley leaves floating around.. and the ever so comforting haze of golden chicken broth with little flavorful specks suspended inside... mmmm...

Dave hasn't been feeling well... so I decided to fix him some good ol chicken soup. This one is pretty easy as it calls for an already cooked whole chiken, which reduces some of the cooking time. We thought it was pretty good, just a little on the salty side, couldnt decide if it was the prepared chicken (I got a rotisserie chicken from Publix) or the chicken broth that caused it. Next time I'll use less broth and more water, I think the broth that is prepared in the first phase gives enough flavor on its own. You could use egg noodles in this in place of rice.. just let the carrots and celery cook a little on their own to soften before adding the noodles.

Very yummy... and although it has a long cooking time, it was very easy to make. We have leftovers for lunch today. Mmmmm.

INGREDIENTS

1 cooked chicken (roast or rotisserie)
3 celery ribs
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
6 fresh parsley sprigs plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
10 cups chicken broth
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup jasmine rice, rinsed

METHOD

Remove meat from chicken (I was bad and ate the wings and oysters while taking it apart.. teehee), reserving skin and bones. Coarsely chop 1 celery rib and put in a large pot along with chicken bones and skin, onion, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Simmer, partially covered, 1 hour.

While broth is simmering, shred about half of chicken meat into bite size pieces. Cut remaining 2 celery ribs into 1/4-inch dice.

Pour chicken broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on solids with back of a ladle and then discarding them.

Return strained broth to pot, then add carrots, diced celery, and rice and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and rice is very soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken and chopped parsley.

Enjoy with some buttered bread and feel better!