Aug 5, 2015

Winter Warmers


Frost whiskers on bracken

We've had frosts and hail and sleet!  

The goose-feather doona and my woolies and thermals are out.

The fire is lit and making the place all lovely and cosy!



Broken glass?  No, indeed! Ice from a puddle!



It's winter and I love it!  It's soup season.

One of our favourites is chicken noodle soup so I thought I'd share the recipe for the Chez Archer Chicken Noodle Soup.

Stock:
  • I make my own because the shop-bought ones often have corn or maize hidden in the ingredients as "dehydrated/hydrolysed vegetable protein"
  • about 2 kg of chicken with bones because stock made with bones has all the great immune boosting goodness. - drumsticks are good.
  • garlic - at least 3 cloves - crushed
  • ginger - a good 2" grated
    .
  • Simmer until the chicken is cooked.
  • Drain through a sieve.
    • de-bone (bones to the freezer for a batch of bone broth later)
    • cooked chicken (can use some in the soup and the rest for a meal)
  • cool the stock overnight in the fridge and discard the fat off the surface.
 The Soup:
Vegetables ready to add
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 medium to large carrot - grated
  • 1 stalk of celery - thinly sliced
  • a handful of snow peas - chopped
  • half a red capsicum - chopped
  • more garlic - crushed clove (because that's good for winter ills too!)
  • and noodles (I use Wokka Shelf Fresh Singapore Style noodles)
  • salt and pepper to taste
    .
  • saute garlic in a little oil
  • add stock
  • add prepared vegetables and noodles 
  • heat through until the vegetables are lightly cooked - we like them to be slightly crunchy still rather than cooked to limpness.
Serve with toast soldiers!  We had it last night with toast soldiers made for leftover homemade pumpkin bread!  


Between the bread and the soup we got our recommended five daily servings of vegetables!

Are you a soup fan?  What's your favourite?
.

14 comments:

  1. Oh I love that recipe Sharon and yes we too love soups this time of the year and I have some pumpkin and carrot soup in the fridge for lunch today I also make a nice parsnip and pumpkin soup as well as a sweet potato and carrot and of course good old beef and vegies all warmers that are filling :)

    Stay warm it is 1c here this morning the heating is on to keep us warm

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Helen, pumpkin and carrot soup! Yum! Mmmm, not a big parsnip fan though so I'd definitely stick with carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato! Big fan of beef and vegies too - and I adore barley - I sneak a bit in to a beef broth when Mr Archer isn't looking!

      Your morning sounds just like ours at that chilly 1c!

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  2. This looks delicious, Sharon! I'm a huge soup fan - I probably make it twice a week most of the year. My recent favourite is a chickpea, coconut and kale soup that we serve with toasted tortilla pieces. Very delicious and super easy to make - perfect for mid week :)

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    1. Stefanie, chickpea, coconut and kale sounds very different! And toasted tortilla pieces - what a great alternative to plain bread toast. You know I'm going to ask for that soup recipe, don't you!

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  3. I am such a soup girl! :-) Pea and ham is my absolute favourite but I', adding this to my recipe collection, Sharon!

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    1. Amy, I'm a pea and ham lover too. And the great thing about it is that you can add all sorts of other vegetables too. Have you had pea and ham with cauli and carrots?

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  4. Yum, soup! Pea and ham is an old favourite (as usual, snap, Amy!). I made a beef, vegetable and chickpea soup earlier in the season and it's become a firm favourite too. This looks seriously good, though, Sharon, and I've never made my own stock so that could be a fun adventure. Now I have to ask, though, how much of the cooked chicken do you add in?

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    1. Beef, vegetable and chickpea sounds like a soup winner, Michelle! Love, love, love chickpeas!

      I confess that I don't usually add the chicken back into the soup. But on the occasions that I have, it's only a very small amount and chopped up very finely. I usually save the cooked chicken and use it to make a pie or stir it into a casserole sauce and get a whole other meal out of it!

      Making stock is a great way of knowing that the bones and all have been used in the process. And no added salt or other "flavour" enhancers. And it's so handy to have a good stash in the freezer!

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  5. I love soup - especially homemade. Though I haven't made any in a long while. I loved Chicken Noodle as a get well soon soup as a kid, but your one looks to be the best I've ever seen.

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    1. Thanks, Lyn! I'm tickled that you like the look of my soup! I confess I love the colourfulness of vegetables!

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  6. I adore soup, Sharon and yours sounds delicious. Chez Archer Chicken Noodle Soup is going into the cookbook. We need it, it is freezing here at the moment.

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    1. I think makes it unanimous, Jen! we're all soup lovers! It's comfort food, isn't it! If you try this recipe, you'll have to let me know the Chez St George extra additions or modifications. :)

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  7. Sharon, mmm! This looks so tasty! Thanks for sharing. I come from a family of soup eaters and it's just the night for one now as I type - chilly around the edges. I don't have a favourite but a good home made tomato soup is great. Or broccoli and blue cheese. Or leek, potato and bacon. Sigh. Now I'm hungry!

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    1. Hey, Annie, I love tomato soup! Broccole and blue cheese - now that sounds like a recipe I need to look out for! Mmmm, leek... have to confess I'm not a big fan of this vegetable. I find it quite over-powering. But the potato and bacon sound very fine indeed... maybe a cauliflower, potato and bacon... Thinking there might be some soup experimentation happening in the kitchen in the next few weeks!

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