Soups are very easy. Basically once you make your basic stock you can add anything to it that you have around. It is left over heaven that can be stretched out to accommodate however many mouths you need to feed. I also tend to throw in what ever I have around that I need to use up. This is great if you have a drawer full of vegetables that are just going to get thrown out in the next couple days but aren’t quite fresh enough for salad anymore.

Basic Stock
To make stock, you take your left over carcass after taking the meat off and put it in a pot of boiling water. You may want to put the carcass in cheesecloth and tie the end for easy removal. Boil the carcass in the water for about an hour or more then remove. At that point add your spices, chopped celery, onions and garlic. If you have fresh herbs to add you can put these things in cheesecloth as well to remove if you like. I have children who cringe at the sight of onion so this way I can remove the onion before they realize it is there. If there is not enough flavor you can add some chicken bullion as well. There are some great organic alternatives for this as well. You can separate and freeze your stock for future use if you don’t want to use it right away.

If you want to make soup but don’t have time to make a stock from scratch you can use chicken stock from the store or I like to keep a jar of organic bullion in my refrigerator for quick soups. This is great to have around if you end up with sick children. A little broth with some noodles cooked in and it is instant soup for a sickie.

Chicken or Turkey noodle soup
To stock add (amounts are approximate depending on personal preferences)
-Rice or pasta (1/2-1 cup)
-Carrots (1/2-1 cup)
-Celery (1-2 stalks)
-Various other veggies to taste (I like corn, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, what ever I need to use up)
-Turkey or chicken (cut up left over cooked 1 cup)
-Salt and Pepper to taste