Cost: $12 / Time: 1.5 hours / Serving: MANY

I’ve been making chicken soup for years, but this recipe was a winner. I shared this with friends, enjoyed it daily and still was eating it after 5 days. If you are on the budget or want to rest your gut and eat light for a week, I highly recommend this soup. Easy to make and very delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
Whole chicken (local or organic only – you don’t want to drink broth that’s crawling with hormones, chemicals, and antibiotics)
2 bunches of green onions (scallions)
1 large, thick carrot or 3 smaller carrots
1 whole onion
salt and pepper
coconut or olive oil (coconut oil is recommended for this recipe)

THE PROCESS:
In a large pot, submerge the chicken in water (45+ cups of water). Skin your large carrot and peel your onion and add to water. Add salt to flavor the water. Let chicken boil on medium heat until it’s cooked. To test if it’s done, poke a fork through the meat and if the fork moves through the meat it is done. If it’s still tough your chicken is not done. I find it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.  As foamy fat collects at the top of the broth, take a soup-spoon and collect the foam to discard. Take the chicken out of the broth and remove to a bowl where you’ll break down the meat from the bones. Remove the onion and carrot. Place carrot to the side, as you’ll be cutting this up and adding to soup.

Leftover meat. Isn't it sweet?

As you break down your boiled chicken, peel off large chunks and add back to the broth. I prefer larger pieces of chicken in my soup.  I recommend using almost all the meat but saving some of the breast for chicken salad.  Check out the leftover meat (isn’t it sweet?) below to the right.

Take your green onions and cut all the pieces in half. In a skillet add two tablespoons of coconut oil and  your green onion and cook until they are soft and a tad brown. Add cooked green onions to the soup.

Take your carrot and slice it adding pieces back into the soup. Add a generous amount of ground pepper and additional salt if needed.

Serve!

(photo credit: Mike Hedge)