Homemade Chicken Broth & Soup

This YUMMMM-mazing recipe is from my dear friend, Careen Lewis. She blessed me with a batch (Lord, bless those hands!) and shared her recipe. Now we ALL get the honor of sharing in this savory goodness!! THANK YOU Lord for friends who share their recipes freely to help others get healthy to serve you better!! If you have a gluten-free, dairy-free, Candida-Detox-friendly recipe to share (with photos), please CONTACT US and I am happy to credit you appropriately..OR name the recipe after you! ;)

BASIC CHICKEN BROTH:
1 Whole Organic Chicken w/ organs
4-5 Carrots w leaves
4-5 Celery stalks w leaves
1 handful Fresh parsley sprigs
1 small White or yellow onion, quartered
Sea salt, to taste
Purified water to fill

​Place your chicken in a large crock pot or large stock pot on the stove and stuff all other ingredients in and around the chicken, breaking the carrots and celery in half, as necessary. Heavily salt your mixture and add water to fill ALMOST all the way to the lid. Cook on low for 6-12 hours total. After 4-5 hours, remove chicken (carefully) to remove the meat from the carcass (meat should easily fall off the bone). Save the meat to make chicken soup (see below) OR another recipe that calls for delicious, moist chicken (if you can control yourself from eating half of it while you clean the chicken!). The chicken will freeze well in a freezer bag, if necessary. Place the chicken carcass back into your pot and continue cooking on low another 2+ hours. 

After desired cooking time, place a LARGE bowl (ideally one w a pour spout) in the sink and top w a colander lined with a nut bag or doubled up cheesecloth. Pour the contents of your pot into the colander to strain into the bowl. Use immediately or jar it up for later. My bowls do not have a pour spout, so I use a glass measuring cup with a pour spout to transfer my broth into jars for storing. 

*This broth freezes very well and is nice to have on hand for other recipes that call for chicken broth like rice, quinoa and other chicken broth based soups. Freeze in gallon freezer bags and freeze flat for easy thawing.

FOR BADA-BAM! CHICKEN BROTH:

1 small bulb Garlic, minced (please do not buy pre-minced, preserved garlic)
1 medium White or yellow onion, chopped
Avocado or Olive Oil
1.5 tsp Dried dill (more if fresh)
Sea salt, to taste
Optional: add additional herbs like rosemary or those of your choice. The dill and rosemary mixture was JUST AS GOOD as the straight dill!)

Saute' all of the above ingredients together and add to your mixture after you've removed the meat from your chicken carcass. Let this cook for AT LEAST 1 more hour, but I prefer quite a few more hours, or even overnight (if time allows) for deeper flavor. Salt, to taste. 

After desired cooking time, place a LARGE bowl (ideally one w a pour spout) in the sink and top w a colander lined with a nut bag or doubled up cheesecloth. Pour the contents of your pot into the colander to strain into the bowl. Serve immediately or jar it up for later. My bowls do not have a pour spout, so I use a glass measuring cup with a pour spout to transfer my broth into jars for storing. 

FOR MISS CAREEN'S CHICKEN SOUP: 

Avocado Oil
1 small bulb Garlic, minced (please do not buy pre-minced, preserved garlic)
1 medium White or yellow onion, chopped

Homemade Basic Chicken Broth (see above)
Carrots, sliced or chopped
Celery, chopped (optional)
1.5 tsp Dried dill (more if fresh) 
1 handful Fresh parsley sprigs
2 cups Cooked chicken (from the carcass - see above)
Sea salt

Optional: 1-2 cups cooked GF pasta or cooked brown/wild rice

Begin by sauteing the onions in avocado oil to soften or until they become translucent, adding the minced garlic about a minute before onions are done (add sea salt while cooking).
Add BASIC CHICKEN BROTH (see above).
Add dill (herbs), chopped carrots and parsley. Bring to a boil then simmer 45 minutes or until veggies are soft to your liking for chicken soup. Add more sea salt to taste. Remove parsley sprigs with tongs or a slotted spoon.

For Chicken noodle soup or Chicken wild rice soup, add COOKED gluten-free pasta or COOKED rice to the mixture right before you are ready to serve it. DO NOT add un-cooked rice or pasta as it will soak up all your liquid and leave you with a super thick "stew". Be prepared to use more broth for either of these soups as there will still be SOME liquid absorption from the noodles/rice. 

ADD A WARM FIRE, RAINY DAY, SICK DAY OR COOL WINTER DAY & ENJOY!!