kick-ass chicken soup!

A while ago, I figured out that adding a can of white beans to chicken soup was a great way to fill it out if there was not much chicken left on the carcass.

But right now, I am creating what just might be my best version. I save the carcass from a 4 or so pound chicken that I roasted in the freezer, and when the mood strikes me, I pressure cook it for 20 minutes or so with whatever leftover fresh veggie scraps I have in the freezer. (If I’ve used my veggies for a veggie stock, I use the proverbial carrot, onion, celery, and a few cloves of garlic – and a bay leaf all in with the chicken)

Anyway – I had swiss chard, brocoli, kale, and shitake mushroom scraps, and added carrot, celery, onion, garlic and a bay leaf. Came out great!

Then, after picking the chicken bones I got about a cup of tiny pieces of chicken. So, of course, I will be adding the white beans. And, a brainstorm….I have two slices of raw bacon wrapped up in the freezer. I zapped them in the microwave for 5 minutes, chopped it up, and added it after I add carrots, celery, and cabbage (first time using cabbage in chicken soup). Added a little salt, a few whole garlic cloves, fresh ground pepper, and a little dried rosemary, oregano, and basil, and it is already fabulous!

I’ll be adding the can of beans, the chicken, and fresh parsley and some bits of kale green I salvaged from the kale I had frozen to add green stuff in a few minutes. I think the little bit of bacon is going add a really deep richness to the flavor – unexpected but compatible. I hope!

Well, next time I post, I’ll say how it came out. Always an experiement.