Chicken soup for body and soul
I have, in my opinion, the BEST chicken soup recipe EVER. It is full of healing ingredients and just hits right when you are feeling sickie. The last few times my friends have gotten sick, I have made it for them and it is now sort of a thing. (I even had my daughter’s boyfriend call and request it for his mama when she was ill!) So I mentioned to my son that one of my besties is sick and I need to make her a pot of soup. He chuckles and says, “You are like a mom to them all!” And, I’m not gonna lie, it made my heart happy! No, I don’t need to mother my grown friends, but I do love taking care of people and helping support their bodies when needed.
I then realized I never actually shared the recipe with you, so here it is. I do this in my Instantpot, and the bonus is you can use even a frozen chicken and still have fresh amazing soup within an hour or so. Feel free to spice up as desired, but this is the basic recipe. I use way more carrots and celery, and chose organic veggies and pastured chickens. I use Redmond salt or Celtic sea salt. At the end, I also add in some orzo and let it cook while I’m deboning the chicken, so that is how I will write this recipe, feel free to use other noodles, rice, potatoes, or to keep it low carb, nothing at all!
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about 4-5 lbs
4-6 whole carrots, sliced
a bunch of celery, sliced
1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled (yes the entire thing)
1 thumb size portion of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
2 T of salt
at least 6 cups of water, but I often use more because the broth is BOMB. (I have an 8 quart IP, so just judge accordingly to max fill line on yours)
That’s it. Easy Peasy. The worst is the peeling of the garlic cloves and the ginger, but it is SO WORTH it. Please use fresh and you won’t be disappointed.
Now, place all ingredients in the IP and cover, set to seal, and press Poultry setting, which on mine is 15 mins. (If you are using a frozen chicken, it will take longer to come to pressure, but you can also adjust time to 30 if that makes you feel better.) I let it naturally release for at least 10 mins but sometimes to 20 plus - it just depends on when I remember LOL.
Next, remove chicken and debone it. I generally use all the meat in the soup. While I am working on that, I put it on Saute setting and throw in a cup of orzo when it starts boiling. After the orzo is cooked, I throw in the meat and mix it all up well, breaking any garlic cloves that didn’t dissolve or cook down. I remove the insert of the instant pot and let it start to cool down. Then, serve yourself a bowl of warm, yummy goodness and ENJOY!
