Chicken Soup with Kale

There's nothing like home made chicken soup to make you feel all cozy and warm. The weather has been miserable the past several days so I thought it was high time to make a pot of soup. This may be my best chicken soup yet - although since I only make it once or twice a year, who knows... Forgive me if I've repeated this recipe on this blog.

• various chicken pieces (I used two breasts and four thighs - bone-in, skin and fat partially trimmed)


• two large carrots chopped roughly


• some celery ribs (with leaves)


• one medium onion cubed


• 3 parsnips chopped roughly


• 12 or so peppercorns


• 2 whole cloves


• 2 garlic cloves


• sprig of fresh parsley


• sprig of fresh thyme


• some dried dill (I didn't have any fresh)


• 1/2 cup cooked small pasta (I would have used more, but I'm not supposed to eat pasta right now)


• a few handfuls of fresh kale, torn into bite-size pieces


• enough water to cover stuff in pot

Rinse chicken parts and pat dry. Trim some of the skin and fat, but leave some on for flavor. Place chicken parts through dill in large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Skim off the scum now and then. Let cook for about 2 hours. Remove everything from the pot and strain. I added back some carrots, chopped into bit sized pieces (I love mushy cooked carrots in home made chicken soup). Add back some cooked chicken meat from the soup chicken if you so desire. The meat may shred because it's been cooked so long, but I don't mind that. Add cooked pasta (be sure to cook pasta in a separate pot with water so it doesn't absorb any more of the precious chicken broth than necessary). Season with salt and pepper and maybe more dill or fresh parsley. Finally, add the torn kale and simmer until wilted.

Normally, I'd serve this with a hunk of crusty bread, but that is not allowed right now. You know, I really didn't miss it.

Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts

With the leftover soup chicken, I made chicken salad.

• chopped (shredded is more like it) left over soup chicken meat


• a couple of diced celery ribs


• small amount of diced sweet onion


• handful of dried cranberries


• handful of walnut pieces


• enough mayo to coat to your liking

Since I can't make this into a sandwich, I just ate it with baby spinach leaves dressed with an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Yummy.