Our home has felt under the weather this last week with fevers and coughs and stuffy noses. With so many friends and extended family members also at home with the flu right now, I’ve again turned to nurture our wellness here. Although there are hundreds of homeopathic remedies to sip or rub or diffuse, this hearty Chicken Soup with Kale and Carrots is my favorite to return to during theses dreary, cold months.
While two of my children were sprawled across the sofa or in their beds feeling awful, my youngest has been bouncing on furniture and hanging from doorways, telling me how much she misses having playmates. “I am 100% extrovert! I need to be with people,” she shouted this week. I just laughed. For my little who loves people, this week has been a great lesson in how healthy busy hands can help nurture and take care of those who don’t feel well. So she’s made tea for her siblings and given her sister a foot rub. She’s written little notes and helped a ton in the kitchen, one of her favorite places.
This weekend, we decided to make our favorite chicken soup together. It is the perfect recipe for little helpers as there’s much washing, peeling, and rough chopping needed. On a side note since many have asked, Olive began chopping in the kitchen with me at age four, more because of her own interest. Now, she always uses her child’s chef knife and peeler set we gifted her a couple of Christmases ago. (The same company also sells the chef knife and finger guard on its own.) I love that it encourages proper finger placement and protection with the finger guard, but the blade is still sturdy enough to chop carrots. At nearly eight, she does all of her own chopping, although always with my supervision. Wink.
Below is the recipe for one large batch of soup (serving 6-8ish). I often chop extra veggies (marked with *) to make a second bone broth after I’ve stripped the meat from the chicken. It’s a way to stretch the chicken and stock the freezer for another meal. You’ll find both listed below in the instructions. Enjoy!
CHICKEN SOUP WITH KALE+ CARROTS adapted from It’s All Good
1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs
1 large yellow onion, quartered*
1 celery stalk, washed and roughly chopped*
1 large leek, washed really well, trimmed and chopped*
2-3 medium carrots, washed, peeled, and roughly chopped for the broth*
2-3 medium carrots, washed, peeled, and roughly chopped, reserved for the soup
a few sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
1 large bunch of kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
2 large soup pots
(optional) extra carrot, celery, onion, and leek chopping to set aside for a second bone broth
TO MAKE THE CHICKEN SOUP
Toss the coarsely chopped veggies [onion, celery, leek, carrots] and chicken in a pot. Cover with sea salt, black pepper, thyme, and the bay leaf. Fill the pot with cold water, covering the veggies and chicken, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. When it boils, lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours.
Pour and strain the stock into a clean pot, removing and discarding the cooked vegetables. Pull the meat off the chicken––it should fall right off the bone––adding the shredded chicken to the broth. If the chicken is too hot for your fingers, use a knife and tongs. Leave the bones in the first pot for now. Add the torn kale and fresh batch of carrots to the soup. Let the soup simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy. This soup pairs really well with an easy, handmade crusty bread, too. Wink.
TO STOCK UP ADDITIONAL BONE BROTH
While the soup is simmering, add any veggie scraps or extra veggies you have chopped back into the first pot with the chicken bones. Add a bit of parsley or thyme and sea salt. Fill the pot again with cold water. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 6 to 12 hours. I often leave it simmering overnight. Let the broth cool. Strain it into a a pot or bowl. Measure and store in the freezer for a future soup, or to sip on when your home needs nurturing wellness.
Comments
Do you have a favorite soup pot? Looking for a new one.
I don’t actually, or at least not one I feel is significantly better than another. I have a Cuisenart pot set, and the large soup pot has been wonderful, although sometimes I wish a bit bigger. :) A good friend and neighbor has a very large All-Clad soup pot that I love to borrow because of it’s size. It must be twice the size of my own large pot. I wish I could help more, but I recommend: make sure the pst has a sturdy bottom, thick enough not to burn, and firm handles easy enough to grasp when the pot is hot. Make sure it is small enough to store, but large enough to make enough soup for more than your home (or for leftovers). Good luck!
I think I will try this this week. I’ve never seen a recipe where you cook the whole chicken like this before. Makes it easier!
Your posts always make me feel so calm, Bethany, like I’m at home here.
I’m sorry you guys have been under the weather, but how lovely it is to have such an enthusiastic helper! :) Chicken soup is our family go-to meal when we’re feeling a bit snuffly too; there are fewer more comforting meals than that, right?
:)
Flora
http://www.theeverchanginghome.com
We too are nursing colds/flu that seems to have stretched on for far too long. This recipe comes at the perfect time. No sick day is complete without a good chicken soup recipe. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!