the toenail An Important Part Of The Whole

There’s something I must confess to you right up front.  When it comes to these recipes I post, you gotta know I don’t measure a thing. NOTHING!  I eyeball everything and have this motto, “the more the better” when it comes to dumping in herbs and spices.  Knowing that, take any measurements I note with a grain of salt.  Or a tablespoon full.  🙂

THIS SOUP has been in the making since 1995.  My husband and I have been tweaking and perfecting and adding stuff over the years, and we finally have this star soup where it belongs…..CAPITAL DEE Delicious!  It is like drinking a cushy, baby wool sweater, ’cause it cozies you up from the inside out…..except unlike a mouth full of wool, this tastes good going down!  We eat it ALL YEAR LONG.  Seriously!  And find that this low calorie, hearty brew is soul soothing in any season.  We hope you enjoy it as much as our family does and that you will come to consider it a “staple meal” in your home.
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INGREDIENTS

Whole chicken (I prefer All Natural from Food Lion)
8 large carrots
2 medium onions (or one giant one)
4 stalks of celery
2-5 turnip roots * (the white & purple ball thing)
Minced garlic – about 2 big soup spoons full (there’s that measuring thing!)
Dried tarragon  – a bunch of it (buy the big bottle at Sam’s or a kitchen supply store)
Salt
Pepper
Frozen block of chopped spinach (Pictsweet, Hanover….)

WHAT TO DO

Wash your chicken, and pull out that surprise bag inside and discard it.
Plop your clean chick in a large stockpot.
Cover with cold water.
Peel 4 carrots. Cut in half. Drop in with your chicken.
Peel & quarter the onions.  Throw them in the pot.
Wash & cut in half 2 stalks of celery.  Put ’em in, too.
Peel your turnip roots.  Halve them.  Put them in the pot.
Add the minced garlic.
Dump in some tarragon.  Literally.  Must be 4-5 TBSPs, at least.
Add salt & pepper.  You decide how much.
You’ll add more to your bowl later.

BOIL THIS STUFF.
Once boiling, turn it down to medium.
Cover with a lid, but tilted to allow for breathing room.
Cook this way for about 75 – 90 minutes.

Pull your chicken out carefully, and set it aside.
It should be falling apart.  So good!

Strain remaining liquid and vegetables into a new, clean pot.

Look at that!
That’s wonderful, health-filled liquid gold!

Throw away the strained out veggies when they cool.
Lord, please wait until they are cool!
I have melted many a trash bag by throwing them out too soon.

Put the “new pot” of broth back on the stove.
Medium-low.  Get it slightly boiling.

Dice remaining carrots (4 of them) and celery (2 stalks).
Add them to the “new pot”.
Cover, with a tilt.
Cook for about 35 minutes.

While this is cooking, you can start pulling your chicken.
Yay!  Touch that hot thing!
You will discard all the bones, skin, cartilage….all the gross stuff.
Sit chicken meat aside.

After your 35 minutes of cooking,
Add the spinach block to your broth.
Cook for another 15 minutes.

Turn off your stove!  You’re almost done!

Add the cooled, pulled chicken meat to the pot.

EAT.IT.UP!

Now this seems like a long, complicated recipe, but I assure you it is not!  Because of the cook times, you can do other stuff while it’s “simmering”.  Sometimes I begin this soup in the morning, and finish it in the evening.  Or prepare it over two days!  

This soup is WHOLE30 COMPLIANT

If you have children in the home, or a husband who needs some “substance” in his soup besides some floating green stuff,  you can boil noodles on the side and serve this soup on top of them.  This makes it NOT Whole30 compliant, but it really pleases a hungry group of teenagers and/or a needy husband (for the record, my man’s been eating this soup noodle free for the last 30-some days!).  This is also a great way to sneak greens into your family.  “Sneak”, because they can’t really pick them out and the greens are really incognito, except for their give-away color.

Oh, and  a note about the turnip roots.  Almost forgot the asterisk.  *

Don’t be afraid of the turnip roots (see them in the right side of the picture below).  Root vegetables really get a bad rap.  Or is it wrap?  Anyhow – root veggies add a depth of flavor that is remarkable in broth.  The vitamins and nutrients are bar none some of the best you’ll find in the veggie market!  I use turnip roots because they are usually readily available in our grocery stores here year round, and pretty easy to peel and cut in half.  I’ve also used rutabaga, too, and that add’s a nice flavor.  A little more strong than the turnip, but nice, none-the-less.  If you’re not sure about the flavor, then add just 2 to your broth to begin with.  If you like the flavor of the broth, try upping it to 3 or 4 the next go around.  I use no less than 5!  Adjust the broth to suit your preference.  Personally, I don’t enjoy eating turnip root at all, but the flavor it yields in the broth is one I miss if I skip out on the roots.  

This is the chicken I prefer to use:  Nature’s Place, all natural whole chicken.  Get it at Food Lion.  It’s a little more pricey than run of the mill whole chickens, but so worth the difference in price!  Put good things in your body….and your body knows!

p.s.  That price doesn’t scare me.  Just a number.  Just a number.  Even on halloween, it’s just a number.   If it scares you, we need to talk.  Jesus is so much more than any number can ever pretend to be.  🙂