Homemade Chicken Soup

Homemade Chicken Soup - Moms For Real Food Initiative

The chicken soup I make is probably the 3rd generation of a family recipe. 
It's been tweaked and altered a few times for either convenience or nutrition sake.
The one I make is never really the same each time, because I alter it according to what is in season and what's in the pantry.
It's a great all time favorite that you purposely make far too much of so you can either freeze or can for the future.


So, the recipe I'm going to put here is the basic "base" soup recipe that will never fail you!
That said: please keep in mind chicken soup (as all soups, stews and broths) need time to cook and cure properly.  
This isn't something you just whip together on a Sunday afternoon. You need to plan it, prepare it, and let it cook over the course of a good day. 
Not even kidding - a WHOLE DAY. 
So if you like slow cookers, feel free to use one. 

Ingredients
We always assume you are using farm fresh and organic ingredients :)

• Large stainless steel or slow cooker pot (8-10 quarts/7.5-9.4 ltr)
• 1 large whole, or cut up chicken
• 6-8 carrots
• 3-4 stalk celery
• 2 onions 
• 
  
• 1 cup each:
• Corn
• Green/Yellow beans
• Red Lentils
• Green Lentils
• Peas
• Zucchini
• 
  
• *All seasoning is suggested and should be altered to taste.
• 2-3 tbs Poultry seasoning
• 2 tbs Pepper 
• 2-4 tbs Maggie
• 2-4 tbs sea/rock salt
• 4 cloves garlic
•  
• Water enough to cover ingredients (filtered, no chlorine) 

Instructions

1. Roughly chop and brown together half of the carrots, celery and onions until tender and brown.
2. Add seasoning
3. Add chicken
4. Add 3 - 4 cups of water
5. Turn up heat until water boils, then adjust to low simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through.
6. Add remainder celery, carrots and onions, chopped as you like.
7. Fill with water up to the top of the pot - DO NOT DRAIN CHICKEN. (Unless you have a really fatty chicken, the little bit of fat from the chicken becomes an integral part of your broth. If you do have a fatty chicken, simply remove the skin before cooking it.)
8. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer for 5 hours. You may have to top up the water if it continues to boil down, but that is ok! 
9. After 5 hours or so, remove the chicken onto a cutting board - careful! It's HOT! Allow to cool enough to remove all the meat. This will not be hard as by this point it should literally just fall away.
10. Put meat back into the pot, and discard the bones and other bits.
11. Add the rest of your vegetables.
12. Taste and add spices as needed.
13. Bring to a boil again, adjust heat to simmer and cook for another hour.