We’re talkin’ about Crock Pot Chicken Soup today. Listen up! You’re home. You’ve got the flu. You’re feelin’ yourself droop? Call a friend to get you groceries, cause you’re makin’ some Crock Pot Chicken Soup! lol
YOU’RE SILLY CHEF!
Thank you. I know. I live to be silly! So, not only do you get to lay in bed and watch movies, or catch up on the things you’ve recorded… but you also get to make the medicine that will cure you: Chicken Soup!
Go easy on yourself. The groceries are organic carrots, celery and onion, already cut into pieces (or strips that you can easily chop up), garlic, one potato and any vegetables you have in the fridge. Yesterday I used broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms. Just give a rough chop to everything and stick it in a bowl. Drizzle a little olive or walnut oil on ’em. Salt and Peppa.
Now, thinly slice 4-5 cloves of garlic. (You know that garlic kills bacteria and boosts your immune system, right)?
YES CHEF!
Al righty then! Take those slivers of garlic and place them under the skin of each chicken part (bone in, skin on). I actually like to do this when I am well and I create a marinade with hoisin and ginger, overnight into the fridge. Tender flavorful chicken. And don’t worry about the ‘skin on’ part. At the end, you’ll peel the skin off, put it in the fridge and when it cools, the fat rises to the top to simply scrape off!
Back to the soup…. so, you have salted and peppered the chicken. I like to add some chili powder as well. (Vitamins A, C and minerals like potassium). If you really want to get crazy? Add tumeric. Turmeric will fight off bacteria and virus, and it has both manganese and potassium… good immune boosters!
So you’ve really got both garlic and spices workin’ for ya.
Let’s layer the veggies in first and put the chicken on top. I like to add a splash of organic boxed onion soup broth. Set it and forget it! Low and slow! Do that in the morning and by mid afternoon? You’ve got great soup.
And there’s two more bonuses: Your house will smell great for days (really… I woke up this morning and was amazed to come into the kitchen and think YUM). But more important, your chicken will have that true chicken taste (unlike when you boil chicken in a pot on the stove and there’s NO flavor)!
And voila! It literally falls off the bone, still with great flavor! You can leave some in the soup, and keep the rest aside. Freeze it for when you’re better, or use it to make taco’s or a chicken salad for other people in the house that are bugging you for food.
Well, noooo… you’re sick. Just freeze it. And tell them to go out to dinner! lol
Eat nothing but soup for a couple of days (more broth than anything else) and you may start to feel better.
Not quite sick yet? But feeling like something is going on?
I was watching Dr. Oz and his guests say there are a few things you can do to prevent colds and the flu: First, use a saline nasal spray. If you keep your nasal passages dry? They won’t be harboring infection and bacteria. Second: Buckwheat honey. A couple of teaspoons a day can do wonders. And Third: Medicinal Mushrooms. We’re talking about shitake, maitake, reishi… have been used hundreds of years in Chinese Medicine and they all make a good tea. (I’m thinkin’ dried mushrooms, add hot water and there you have it: tea)! Throw some buckwheat honey in? And you’re good to go!
Stay well, or get better!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian