Soulful Chicken Soup

There are days, and there are soup days.   There is nothing like an amazing bowl of home made chicken soup.  Something about the aroma, and the feeling you get from that first spoonful....ahhhhh.....yummy in my tummy!   I went to pick up the kids today from my friends house and she had just made a pot of home made chicken soup.  Everyone was having a small bowl for a snack, and I was also offered a bowl.  Best. Soup. Ever.  I have posted the recipe below, but its more of a method than a recipe as it has no amounts, but with soup you really can't go wrong.

For the broth:

• Next time you roast a chicken for dinner, save them bones!  Real bones make the best broth, and you can always toss the carcass in a ziploc bag and freeze it if you aren't going to use it right away.  
• Another tip:  save your washed vegetable peelings (i.e., carrots, celery ends) and freeze them.  Add these to the broth and strain them out afterwards.   Flavour, flavour flavour!
• Throw in a bay leaf; salt and pepper to taste.

For the soup:

• Save some of that roasted chicken for the soup.  You can cut some up ahead of time, and after you strain the bones from the broth, you can strip off all the meat.
• Add some chopped celery (including some of the nice leaves), chopped carrot, 1/2 can of garbanzo beans, some green peas,  frozen lima beans, a bit of corn, chopped onion and fresh chopped parsley
• 1-2 cups of Orza pasta (which I typically don't like, but it was AMAZING in the soup!) 

This soup freezes well, is great for a snack (as evidenced today), great for a meal, and great for lunch-leftovers!   And today with that cold wind blowing and the sun not shining, it really was a soup day.  

By the time the first spoonful made it down into my belly, all the days troubles melted away.

And then my son told me his iPod had been stolen at school.  At least he waited until near the end of my bowl to tell me.  Enjoy the soup moments while they last.  They apparently don't last long.   So long, and thanks for the soup!