Steve came home from traveling to the UK on Friday. (Yay!)
But he came home sick. (Boo!)
Horrible sinusy, stuffy, yuck sick.
So I made him some homemade soup.
And yes, the high was 102 yesterday.
But when you’re sick, you’re sick.
It’s my favorite soup to make during the “winter” (in quotes because the winter season is debatable in Arizona) and it’s really easy to make.
Homemade Chicken Soup
You will need:
1 rotisserie chicken (make your own, or if you’re lazy like me, just buy one from the grocery store)
2 “boxes” of chicken stock (or if you’re fancy and you make your own, 64 oz.)
2 cups of water
1 tomato, diced without the seeds
2 zucchini, diced small (I used grey squash yesterday. Whatever you have in the fridge is fine.)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
barley (I use about 1/4 cup, but you can definitely use more)
brown rice (again, I use 1/4 cup, but use more if you would like)
The barley and rice can be replaced with noodles, just remember that noodles expand a lot when you cook them :)
—-
Pour the chicken stock and water into a stock pot.
Pull the chicken off the the bone. I put it all on a cutting board and then cut it into smaller pieces before putting it into the pot. A huge step that I used to skip (because it’s icky) is putting the skin, drumsticks, and wings into the pot. Don’t skip that step. It adds a lot of moisture and taste, and you’re going to take out all the yucky stuff before you eat the soup. Trust me.
Go ahead. Close your eyes and put the drumsticks and wings in.
Throw the zucchini (cut very small, like pencil erasers) and tomato into the pot.
Add the salt and pepper.
Add the barley and rice.
Let it simmer (slow boil) on the stove for an hour. Or two. Or three.
Check to make sure the rice is soft before serving :)
