Chicken Soup Weather...

Recently the weather changed here in Texas...I guess you could say we got a cold front, but really...it's not that cold. Anyway, we were all feeling yucky -congested and sore throaty, so I decided to make a big batch of my chicken soup. Now this is not an exact recipe, I just throw stuff in a pot and hope for the best, so its more like an idea that you can take and roll with it.

1-rinse a whole chicken. Place into a pot and cover with water. Add a few tsp.s of salt. Boil water and cook until chicken is falling off the bone- this usually takes a good 35-55 minutes depending upon the size of your bird. You can also roast, grill, or bake the chicken if you like. I like to boil the chicken because it is less pots and then I also make chicken broth at the same time.

2-while your bird is boiling away...cut up whole carrots - I keep the skin on because that is really where the nutrients are, and I cut my carrots into disks. Then I dice a bunch of onions and celery. I like to saute my vegtables in coconut or olive oil first for a few minutes to achieve a nice carmelization...I do this in a large saute pan.

3-when the chicken is cooked remove it from the water and allow it to cool on the counter. Meanwhile add a few cups of wild rice to the chicken water, and return to a boil Add a few tsps. of better than boullion chicken paste and cover pan.

4- While the rice is cooking prep the chicken. Remove the skin and bones and shred the chicken or tear into peices with you hands. Return to the chicken/rice/ water.

5- After the rice has been boiling for 15 minutes add the chopped up and sauteed vegtables to the pot. Continue to cook until rice is cooked and vegetables are tender. Add seasoning accordingly. I usually just do salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, and little bit of cayenne pepper.

Chicken soup is so versatile and awesome. You can use different meat, different vegetables-squash, cabbage, green beans, asparagus, shallots, kale, bok choy - yeah, pretty much anything works. You can also use different grains -pasta, quinoa, barley, white/brown rice, risotto...yeah-it all tastes good.

I am also curious to hear what other people's cold remedies are...if you have any please let me know what they are.

When we get colds or are sick we OD on vitamins - Vitamin C, Echinacia, silver...etc. Also, I make a drink concoction of 2 TBS apple cider vinegar, 1 tbs honey, 1 tbs lemon juice, and 1 cup boiling water. It tastes awful, but really helps. Any other crazy ideas out there?