Awesome Chicken Soup Recipe

How awesome is it? It's way awesome. Also, Harris Teeter's rosemary-olive oil bread is awesome...




Anyway, the really awesome thing is that I was able to sneak the whey from my frozen yogurt into it, and even our slightly sub-standard cream cheese. (I think the cream cheese will be better when we get the right culture for it - apparently fil mjolk is not the ideal choice).

The whey really brought the flavor, and man did the cream cheese elevate an already tasty broth! A subtle addition of ginger and curry round out the broth seasonings without being completely in-your-face. :^)

Try it and see for yourself!

Awesome Chicken Soup

• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Onion (half, chopped)
• Celery (up to a cup, chopped)
• 2 Carrots (chopped)
• Chicken (up to 1/2 pound small cubes) optional
• 4 cups Whey and/or Water
• 3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes (I used Reduced Sodium)
• Bay Leaf
• 2-3 generous dashes Ginger Powder
  
• 2-3 generous dashes Curry Powder
• 2-3 handfuls of Brown Rice, Lentils, Barley, etc.
• 1/2 to 1 cup of that less-than-perfect Cream Cheese you tried to make.... Substitute Drained Yogurt or Cream Cheese

Start by pouring in just enough olive oil to almost coat the bottom of your big pot. Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper, and heat to medium or medium-high. Throw in the chopped onions. Saute briefly, or until translucent if desired. Add celery, carrots, and chicken.

Pour in your whey and bring the total volume up to 4 cups with water. Add the 3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes and increase the heat to high to get things going. Throw in the Bay leaf and add Ginger and Curry to taste. Cover with the lid.

After the water is boiling add your grains/beans. I like to throw in a couple handfuls of red lentils and brown rice. Reduce heat to a simmer and keep covered. Cook 40 minutes to an hour (or longer if you prefer). Taste test periodically for your preference on mushiness/tenderness.

Once the soup is properly done add the cream cheese that didn't quite make the grade for bagels. ;^) Add by heavy spoonfuls and mix in thoroughly until it reaches the proper richness. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetarian Notes: This would be fairly easy to convert to a fully vegetarian recipe. Omit the chicken of course, and substitute a seasoned vegetable soup stock based on mushrooms. If you're making your own I suggest using a combination of dried mushrooms that includes Shitake (because they're awesome).


Were you wondering if I had made the lemon curd frozen yogurt experiment?



Oh yes. I didn't even feel bad that I had to finish off all of the chocolate frozen yogurt in the freezer to make room. Sebastian didn't complain at helping me either, hehe.

And how was it? Delicious, but I think it will be even better the next time I make it. (Because I won't try to get pudding consistency in the pot while making the lemon curd! My lemon curd has very faint egg undertones that I expect were caused by me taking the temp a little too hot and too long. Despite this it is still fantastic).


Lemon Curd Frozen Yogurt

• 3 cups Drained Yogurt (I used half Viili and half Fil Mjolk)
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup Lemon Curd (fully chilled)

Combine ingredients (use the full cup of Lemon Curd if you want it be really lemony). Freeze in your ice cream maker and enjoy! I know I'm enjoying mine. :^D


If you like to sauce up your frozen treats milkshake style, I highly suggest using half-&-half for homemade frozen yogurt. I tried just using milk with my chocolate frozen yogurt and it really fell flat for me.