for any of you that make your own chicken soup, what do you use? yest mom bought college inn 'light' chicken broth but its still sooooo much salt! is there a healthier alternative that doesnt taste like crud?
Once a week I buy two roasting chickens and I toss them both in the oven to bake. After dinner I bone them. I put all the meat in a plastic container in the fridge to use as snacks, lunchmeat and even dinner later in the week. I put the bones in a pot in the fridge. The next day I am home, I boil the bones and then do this.
Dump the broth and bones through a strainer and into a second pot - throw out bones. Pour the broth into a 1 gallon ziplock. Then holding onto one upper corner of the ziplock, cut a small hole in the bottom lower corner of the ziplock and let all the broth drain, but stop before you get to the fat at the top. Pour fat on dog food.
I guess I could just go buy a fat strainer, but the ziplock thing works really well.
Then I FREEZE the broth right away if I am not using it. Otherwise I have unused broth stacked up in the back of my fridge with creepy mold.
If you toss some celery butts and onions and garlic in with the bones it is even better. Also it doesn't have to be chicken bones. You can make it out of any kind of bones or even just veggies. Just throw away whatever it is that you boiled to death and keep the broth.
Also - I love having the chicken meat in the fridge, because it is a good high protien thing to throw on salads or to make the kids a quick snack if they are hungry. I also scout the ads and always hit whatever store has chicken on sale. You can also get bones from some butchers for free.
I am not sure what you are asking. You make the base, so you control how much sodium (if any) is in it.
To make broth (of any kind) you just boil veggies or meat in water. Then you throw away whatever you boiled, strain out the yucky stuff (if you are making a meat broth), and seperate out the fat. You are left with basically flavored water. If you don't add salt, then it doesn't have any sodium.
When we lived by the ocean my mom would save the water from boiling even things like clams or shrimp and use it for a soup base later. I think that makes the house too stinky personally. On the other hand, one of my favorite things to do as a teenager was to hop a ferry to the waterfront in Seattle, buy a hot sourdough roll (0.75) at Seattle Sourdough Co, walk down to Ivars and buy a pint of "clam nectar" (0.25) which is the leftover broth from boiling clams for chowder. Sit on the wharf and dunk bread in broth. It was really yummy. That kind of love for bread is what got me to 217 though.
My mom makes veggie broth that is great by roasting onions, garlic, celery, carrots, parsnips in the oven - then boiling them, and then discarding the vegatables and keeping the broth. You can add spices too, just skip the salt if you don't want any sodium.
I buy a powdered soup mix by Weyers and it is sodium free. Short of boiling your own chickens to get the broth.....you could use veggies and use a veggie broth as a base.
14 cups water
4 stalks celery (with leaves), chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 cup mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
12 cloves garlic
10 srpings parsley
2 bay leaves
In Dutch oven, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-hihg heat. Lower the heat to medium; cook for 1 hour or until the stock is golden brown. STrain the stock through a colander,pressing the vegetables lightly to extract their flavor. Discard the veggies.
Makes 12 cups. Per 1 cup: Calories 2; Total fat: 0 g; Saturated fat: 0 g; Cholesterol: 0 g; Sodium [/i]; Fiber 0.1 g.
Cost per serving: 3¢
From Prevention's Low-Fat, Low-Cost Cookbook Page 98
· 14 cups water
4 pounds chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, backs, necks)
2 large carrots, quartered
2 small onions, unpeeled
6 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
In a Dutch oven, combine water, chicken, carrots, onions, garlic and bay leaves; bring to a boil oer medium-high heat. Skim the foam fromt he top; reduce the heat to lowe. Cook for 2 hours, or until stockhas a rich chicken flavor.
Strain the stock through a colander, pressing the ingredients to extract their flavor. Save the chicken for another use; discard the vegetables. Refrigerate the stock overnight; skim off and discard any solidified fat before using.
soup question
