Chicken Vegetable Soup

Since I have been making fried chicken and chicken wings often I had enough chicken parts to make chicken stock. When I make fried chicken I use a whole chicken and butcher it myself. The backs I keep in the freezer for making stock. The chicken wings I treat the same and the wing tips have their own bag in the freezer. When I have enough I make stock because it is simple and good. Chicken parts in a 350 for an hour and a half. Put them in a stock pot with 3 and 1/2 litres of water. Throw in carrots, celery, onions, bay leaves, and herbs and spices plus my secret ingredient. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and simmer covered for three hours. Strain the stock and when cool refrigerate overnight. Pick all the meat you can from the chicken pieces and keep for the soup. Next day remove all the fat off the stock and your ready to make soup.

The secret ingredient in my stock is something that normally ends up in most people’s trash. When ever we have asparagus I never throw the woody ends you break off in the trash. I have a zip lock bag in the freezer and keep them for stock. Those woody ends give a great flavour to any stock you make.

This soup or any soup is a clean the fridge out soup. With any soup what ever you have can be added. Once you have a great stock then what ever you put in it will work.

3 litres chicken stock

1 and 1/2 cups chicken meat

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion chopped

1 large carrot chopped

2 large ribs celery chopped

1 cup frozen corn

2 tablespoons dry parsley

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup spinach

salt and pepper to taste

Put stock, butter, onion, carrot, celery, chicken meat, corn, and parsley in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook covered for 1/2 hour. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed. Add the peas and spinach and cook for another half hour and serve.