Home made chicken soup is said to cure common ailments such as the flu and lift your spirts. I die a little inside anytime I hear “just open a can,” when referring to consuming soup. I have tired some commercial chicken soup products, some taste better than others and are satisfactory in a pinch. I have composed this recipe with health and economics in mind. Taking into account I already have salt, pepper, bay leaves and herbs. My total cost of the ingredients is $7.44. This recipe makes ten and a half 12 oz. servings. This makes each portion 0.71cents. Ten plus servings is a bounty of soup, I freeze over half of mine to be used at a later date. Keep in mind the cost of your ingredients may vary.
Conversely, this takes longer to prepare than opening a can of soup. It is a simple recipe but roasting the chicken requires time. You may skip this step by adding the chicken raw to the pot and boiling it, but roasting makes the chicken flavor more intense.
I was delighted when my husband tasted the completed recipe and his first response was how much more flavor it had than commercial soups.
Ingredients
1 whole 4 lb chicken
1 cup white/brown or wild rice of your choice
12 oz. peeled and chopped carrots
8 oz. chopped celery
1 medium onion diced
4 quarts water
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp dried tarragon or thyme
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 375°. Wash and pat dry chicken with paper towels, place on roasting tray lined with foil.
Season with salt and pepper, rub with light olive oil and bake for two hours or until meat thermometer reads 165°.
In a 5 quart pot sauté, chopped carrots, celery and onion in 1 tbsp light olive oil. Add bay leaves and place whole roasted chicken on top of vegetables in pot.
Fill with water until chicken is covered about 4 quarts.
Add 1 cup of rinsed and strained rice.
Bring to a boil then simmer about 30-40 minutes or until the carrots are soft and the rice is cooked.
Turn off heat, add tarragon and fresh parsley.
Taste and season if needed, then serve or package up for later.