From Cleo Coyle: My husband and I had a rough few days dealing with the long stretch of extreme cold weather in New York City. Not as rough as some who lost power (and electric heating) and others who tragically lost their lives.
Our lesser (yet terribly unnerving) challenge occurred at 4 AM Sunday morning when we discovered our intake water pipe had frozen, and we had no water available in the house, including (yikes) the water used to allow our bathrooms to function.
After throwing on clothes and flipping on lights, we spent the next hour in our freezing cold garage with a space heater and a hair dryer, applying heat to what we believed was the section of pipe that had frozen. It worked. To our great relief, the water began to flow again, and we were thankful to have caught the problem before the pipe burst and caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Our lesser (yet terribly unnerving) challenge occurred at 4 AM Sunday morning when we discovered our intake water pipe had frozen, and we had no water available in the house, including (yikes) the water used to allow our bathrooms to function.
After throwing on clothes and flipping on lights, we spent the next hour in our freezing cold garage with a space heater and a hair dryer, applying heat to what we believed was the section of pipe that had frozen. It worked. To our great relief, the water began to flow again, and we were thankful to have caught the problem before the pipe burst and caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Unfortunately, the stress and interrupted sleep took its toll, and we've come down with the symptoms of a typical winter cold. While chicken soup won't solve our weather problems, it is well worth making if you or your loved ones are suffering from sore throat and congestion. Why? Because...
Frankly, I didn't need to read the scientific research to know homemade chicken soup has healing powers. By the time I slurp down a bowl, I begin feeling relief.
So, let's get our soup on!
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Cleo Coyle writes two bestselling mystery series with her husband. To learn more, click here. |
A common method for making chicken soup is to throw the chicken and veggies into the pot and turn up the heat for about 4 hours.
I prefer my method, which is done in one hour, and is just as healthful. Just be sure to use white meat chicken. I find the properties in the white meat especially helpful for cold and flu relief, and that's why I specify using 1/2 of a whole split chicken breast.
Years ago, I first made this soup for my husband after he caught a cold from me. I felt guilty for giving him my cold and was only too happy to bring him a bowl of my chicken soup. I swear, I barely made it back to the kitchen before I heard him crying out from the bedroom...
I prefer my method, which is done in one hour, and is just as healthful. Just be sure to use white meat chicken. I find the properties in the white meat especially helpful for cold and flu relief, and that's why I specify using 1/2 of a whole split chicken breast.
Years ago, I first made this soup for my husband after he caught a cold from me. I felt guilty for giving him my cold and was only too happy to bring him a bowl of my chicken soup. I swear, I barely made it back to the kitchen before I heard him crying out from the bedroom...
"This is great! It's helping! It's helping!"
Whether you make this soup for yourself or someone you care about, I sincerely hope it brings you plenty of foodie comfort and good health!
~ Cleo
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Cleo Coyle's
One Hour Chicken Soup
Makes about 2 quarts (about 6 servings)
Ingredients:
2 quarts (8 cups) cold water
2 quarts (8 cups) cold water
2 bay leaves
1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on (see image below)
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
5 to 6 ribs of celery, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 peeled carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)2 to 3 envelopes of Goya's Sazon without Annatto (or see my note below for other options)**
Finishing salt (such as French Grey or another coarse sea salt)
**Note: This soup will be bland without seasonings. Although Goya Sazon without Annatto is my favorite, you can substitute 2 to 3 chicken bouillon cubes (or packets) combined with a spice blend that can include your favorites or try onion powder and/or garlic powder and ground black or white pepper. Certainly, add any other herbs or spices that you enjoy (e.g., cumin, paprika, thyme, rosemary).
DIRECTIONS:
Step 1: Pour the cold water into the pot. Throw in the bay leaves. Bring the water to a brisk boil. Place the chicken into the pot, skin side down. (The meaty part of the breast should be submerged in the water.)
Bring the boil down to a simmer, cover the pot with a loose lid, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes. NOTE: The water in your pot may boil down a bit during this process. Check the pot after 20 minutes and add more fresh water to replenish, but do not add more water after this point. Return to a simmer for the remaining 20 to 25 minutes. ALSO NOTE: If your chicken breast is frozen, cooking time may be longer.
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| From ingredient list, this is what you want: 1/2 of a whole, split chicken breast, bone in, skin on. |
Step 2: When the chicken is cooked enough for the meat to be easily removed from the bone and shredded, take the chicken out of the pot. Add the chopped vegetables, and seasoning (Goya Sazon without Annatto or bouillon cubes and your own spice mix), and boil for another 10 minutes. While veggies are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken breast (and discard). Remove the meat from the bone, shred the breast meat using two forks, and save it for the next step.
Step 3: After the veggies have cooked the full 10 minutes, remove the bay leaves from the pot, and add the shredded chicken. If your chicken breast was very large, hold back a bit of the chicken meat from the soup. Add only enough to keep the ingredients balanced.(*Note: If you'd like to make this a chicken noodle soup, this is the point where you'd add your noodles and cook until they're soft.) Cook the soup for another 6 to 8 minutes. I like to serve the soup with coarse salt on the side. Then salt to taste and...slurp with joy!
Eat with cozy winter joy!