My Favorite Chicken Soup

I love fall and all the foods that come along with it. I get so excited for fresh crisp apples, roasted squash, and all the other yummy comfort food dishes I crave once the weather turns chilly. There's nothing like a delicious bowl of warm soup after a long fall day. Yesterday I got home around 4 o'clock and put a chicken soup on to cook. Around 7:15 it was ready to eat and it was delicious!

I was running through the super market on my way back from the real estate office and as I was looking for spinach to add to the soup I came across Swiss Chard. I had never cooked with it before but it looked intriguing. It's a beautiful combination of emerald green leaves with deep pink stems. As vegetables go it's really quite attractive. I put it in my cart thinking I'd switch things up a bit, make the soup a little different this time. Then I came across a rutabaga as I was grabbing my carrots so I threw that in the cart as well. Both purchases turned out to be good decisions. The flavor that they infused into the broth was amazing, just a hint of tart from the greens with a sweetness from the rutabaga.

I put the chicken and veggies on to cook and let the pot simmer for about 3 hours while I worked away back in my office. There's a little more to it than that but not much, it's a great thing to make when you know you'll be home but you don't necessarily have the time to actually be in the kitchen. So next time you think to put on the soup to simmer grab some Swiss Chard and Rutabaga and try out this delicious Fall Chicken Soup!! Recipe below.

Fall Chicken Soup

1 whole chicken

(2) 32 oz. box's of chicken stock

32 oz. water (or however much will fit in your pot after stock is added)

1 chicken bullion cube

2 carrots cut into thirds

3 celery staulks cut into thirds

1 bunch of leaks (white part only) cut into thirds

2-3 whole garlic cloves

1 tbs pepper corns

1 bay leaf

4-5 stems fresh dill

4-5 stems fresh parsley

Add after soup has been strained:

1 rutabaga diced

1 bunch swiss chard roughly chopped

2 carrots chopped into 1/4" rounds

Add all the ingredients to a big stock pot (I always like to use my 6 quart Le Crueset, then you can store the soup right in the pot), leaving out the rutabaga, swiss chard, and the 2 additional carrots. Cook at a simmer for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until chicken if fully cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside until its cool enough to handle. Pull the chicken meat off the bone and set aside. Return the bones to the stock and simmer for another 2 hours. Strain broth using a fine mesh colander and dispose of all of the cooked vegetables and chicken bones. I like to run it through a second time pouring it back into the original pot and this time I line the colander with a paper towel to catch any small debris that might be left, I like a very clear clean broth. Bring the broth up to a boil and add in the chopped carrot, rutabega and swiss chard. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper as needed and enjoy!