Sunday, November 25, 2012

Homemade Chicken Soup for #SundaySupper and #Sandy Relief

This week's #SundaySupper event is very special to me and my family. I am Jersey born and bred. My hometown, which is on the shore, has been battered, bruised, and in parts, broken. This week, as the #SundaySupper team helps raise money for Sandy relief, I thought it would be appropriate to share a recipe that evokes a sense of warmth and healing: my mom's homemade chicken soup,

This soup is a staple in my house this time of year, up until spring comes. I especially make it when one of us is sick. My mom would do the same. She still does. In fact, she included a tupperware full of it in the first care package she sent to me in college. Chicken soup makes you feel good. It warms your body and soul. It soothes your throat and your mind. It gently fills your stomach. It is healthy comfort food.

Please enjoy this recipe that means so much to my family, and follow the links below help those families who need it after Sandy:


Ingredients
  • 1 Whole Chicken (I buy it pre-cut into parts.)
  • 5-6 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 5-6 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • salt and pepper
  • Pecorino Romano cheese
Tools
  • Large pot
  • Medium pot
  • Love
Procedure
  1. Put the chicken in your large pot and fill it with water. Salt the water. Place on stove and cook on medium high heat. Don't let it boil. That'll dry out the chicken. You want it to simmer for 2-3 hours, or until you can pull the chicken off the bone.
  2. While the chicken simmers, chop your veggies. Place them in a medium pot and fill it with water. You may also use chicken stock. Cook over medium high heat. Once again, don't boil it. Cook about 30-40 minutes, until veggies are soft. When they're done, turn the heat on the veggies to low, or off. 
  3. Once the chicken is done, lower that heat to low. Take out the chicken to cool. As it cools, clean out the remnants from the chicken stock. Once the chicken cools, pull it off the bone and shred it.
  4. Combine your shredded chicken, veggies, and veggie stock into the pot with the chicken stock. Add bay leaves. Simmer on low.
  5. Heat salted water to boil for your rice. Add to soup when finished. Salt and pepper to taste. 
  6. Top with a sprinkle of Pecorino Romano and enjoy.
Making it Peanut-friendly:
  • She doesn't like celery. Other than that, she LOVES this soup. Loves.
Sandy Relief:

Here are some recent pictures from Seaside Heights, NJ, taken by my niece. This is a few miles from where I grew up:

There used to be a boardwalk there.
Rides in the ocean and on the beach
The mayor of Seaside Heights is now considering leaving that roller coaster in the ocean as a tourist attraction. I'm really not sure how I feel about that. I can see wanting to recoup the tourism money lost from the storm. I can also see it as a painful reminder of what was lost. I just want the shore to come back any way it can. But first I want to see those who need help with day-to-day things get the help they need.

Please join the #SundaySupper team and consider donating what you can to one of these organizations:

Sandy NJ Relief Fund

Hope Force

Also check out these other #Sunday Supper recipes for Sandy relief:


Breakfast and Brunch:
Comforting Entrees and Casseroles
Warming Soups and Sides:
Sweet Endings:

15 comments:

  1. Agree ! There's nothing quite like chicken soup for the soul & appetite :) This one sounds very healthy & yummy. Love the addition of brown rice ! Thanks for sharing the pictures ! Hope your family & friends are over the Sandy damage. Feel like making me some soup now !

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  2. Soups made with homemade stock are the best! I like the combo of chicken and vegetable stocks. I would have to save some on the side to freeze for later.

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  3. Such devastating photos. I hope all of your loved ones are okay. I would love to have some of your mom's soup...such comfort!

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  4. It's just heartbreaking to see all the destruction! I love your soup...chicken, rice, and veggies make for a comforting bowl of love!

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  5. So glad you suggested this week's #SundaySupper theme! I love that we are coming together as a community and giving back!

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  6. The pictures are so devastating - it is very sad. - Nothing warms the heart and soul like a big bowl of chicken soup. This sounds like a delicious recipe. ~ Bea

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  7. Those pictures are heartbreaking. I´m not sure even chicken soup will mend that. But it sure looks wonderfully comforting!

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  8. How sad are those pictures. You know the devastation!! You soup sounds delicious though!!

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  9. Natural disasters are so hard to deal with emotionally, especially if you're attached to the area. I remember seeing a photo of the rides in the water. And the homes, destroyed. Thanks for sharing your moms chicken soup recipe with us today.

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  10. Gosh, that must be hard to see the devastation close to where you grew up.

    Your mom's soup sounds just perfect...the epitome of comfort!

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  11. Thank you for sharing your recipe and photos so we can see with our own eyes the devistation in NJ. We are all glad to rally togeter to help a community in need.

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  12. I glad we could partner up together and focus on New Jersey this week. That chicken soup looks like the perfect comfort dish for the blues and the flu.

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  13. You are right, Love is essential in good chicken soup! And I am a Jersey girl, luckily not impacted too much, but I totally feel what you are feeling!

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  14. Sorry to hear that your hometown has done through so much devastation. At least the worst is behind the residents there. . but now, it's about re-building. . thanks for this post! And love the homemade chicken soup!

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