This recipe was created when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant last year. The weather had FINALLY started cooling off and it had been rainy. At 8 1/2 months pregnant, there was not a whole lot of cooking going on. A friend reminded me that I had a crockpot and should take advantage of it. Now, I think of a crockpot as a winter kitchen tool, however, I also prefer to eat homemade foods. Eating pre-made food gets expensive quickly, especially healthy foods. Time to be flexible and use my tools to my advantage. At first my goal was just to get some yummy chicken to throw on salads or make into sandwiches. Then, as the chicken was cooking, I realized that I could use the broth for things other than cooking my grains in. I could make a soup! I looked in my veggie drawer and decided I had enough to work with. I got it all chopped up and ready to throw in the next morning.
First you have to make the chicken and broth. You need:
- 1 whole fryer chicken
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
In the crockpot, first put in the chicken. (Make sure the remove the giblet bag from inside. Although, if you forget, no worries. It’ll turn out fine.) Then enough water to be half way up the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Cook on high for 5 hours. Strain the chicken from the broth. Keep the broth! Take the meat off the bones, dividing evenly between two containers.
I used half the chicken for the soup and the other half to make a variety of dishes including shredded bbq chicken sandwiches, in salad and made a delicious avocado chicken salad. YUM
Now onto the soup:
- Saved Chicken Broth, approx 4 cups
- 4 cups of water
- Whatever vegetables you have on hand
Then whatever was in the veggie drawer:
- baby carrots, cut in half
- 1 Russet potato, chopped into 1 inch cubes or smaller
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch chunks
- A whole garlic bulb, top cut off (leave in the bulb)
- a container of pre sliced baby portebello mushrooms
- Fresh green beans, cut down to 2-3 inches in length
- 3 Swiss Chard
- 1 cup leftover cooked brown rice
- half of the chicken
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
First you add in the broth and water, Then first add in this order, carrots, potato, garlic bulb, onion. Cook on high all day. When you get home, immediately add, rice, chicken, mushrooms, green beans, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Let it cook another hour. Tear chard into very small pieces, stir in and wait 5 minutes. Done!
This soup was absolutely delicious and oh so easy. The potatoes gave it a creamy flavor and texture, it was filling and delighted the taste buds. The best thing about this soup is I think pretty much any combination of fresh veggies you have in the fridge would be delicious! This made 8-10 servings.
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