Rosemary Lemon Chicken Soup: Crock Recipe

Having not felt well my first go to is soup.  I love it in the cooler months and especially when I am not feeling well.  Then I crave it.  I always use what I have on hand to make soup.  That's the beauty of it.   You can't really make a bad soup just an un-flavorful one.    Using what I have on hand I made a Rosemary, Lemon, Chicken Soup.

In case you haven't figured it out yet everything

you do in life is an art.  You don't have to be able to paint or draw,  just have the artistic eye to find the beauty and grace in everything.  Even if its' the fact that you can put you pants on better than anyone else.  There is even a certain grace in getting dressed.  Ok I digress but its true; life is art and art is life.  With that in mind this is how I make my soups.  I don't follow rescipes but more like splash color in a pot.   The first thing I do when determining what kind of soup I want to make is determine a theme.  I wanted chicken soup because it makes me feel better and Rosemary not only because I love it but with a cold my sense of smell and taste is of course effected and the Rosemary is pungent enough to be able to taste.

Because I make soup like I paint.  A bit of that and a bit of this I will do my best to put it into a recipe for you. 

In your Crock:  Small crock?  Or large? Add water* to slightly over half of the crock.   Next you will add chicken bullion or *replace water with Chicken soup stock.   I have only used chicken stock once or twice and find it to be too bland for my taste.  When I lived in the Chicago I was able to find this wonderful soup base called L.B. Jamison's that is more a paste then a bullion.  Unfortunately I can't find it in the south but I did find it on Amazon and now buy  6 jars at once to have on hand.  I can't live without this stuff!  I add approximately 2 heaping tablespoons to the water and 3 to four for the larger crock.  You can add more later if its needed by spooning and mixing it in.   http://amzn.to/1AUdxsi

Now turn your crock on for 4-6 hours depending on when you need it by and if you use carrots I suggest 6.

The Chicken:  2 Chicken breasts seasoned rinsed and seasoned with Onion powder, Celery salt, Garlic powder, Lawry's (All season), and some cracked pepper.   I then broiled it on low turning every ten minutes or so to keep it moist and evenly cooked.  Note: During the broiling process you will continue to prep your soup base.

Broiling  the breasts to near finish leave them slightly pink as it will finish cooking in the crock.  After taking out of the broiler let it set for five minutes before cubing.  This is to keep the chicken juicy and moist.   Add to the crock.

In the crock with the soup base I added:

Two fresh tomatoes washed and diced.  1 large sprig of fresh rosemary from the bush I planted outside my home.  Now you can use fresh from the store or if you do not have fresh rosemary growing you can use 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary.  I did not cut the rosemary off the stem as you will remove the rosemary sprig from the soup about halfway through cooking.  If any comes off the stem into the soup that is perfectly fine. 

The juice of one fresh lemon or two tablespoons  of real lemon juice.  One tablespoon of parsley fresh or dried.  1 teaspoon of thyme, and sage.  Now take a whiff of these wonderful spices.  Wonderful and goes with the theme.  Anything else you want to ass you can!    Remember there is no right or wrong in making soup.  I also added about a teaspoon of celery salt. 

Next I took a whole onion, four carrots and three stalks of celery.  Chopped them to a small/medium size and sauteed them in olive oil over med heat. The idea is to cook them down a little bit to help the cooking process go faster.  When the onions start to turn clear at the edges, remove from heat and add contents of skillet to crock. 

I then added one can of chick peas and one cup of tomato juice.  The tomato juice is only because I had about a cup left and didn't want to waste it so added it to the soup.  You don't have to add this if you do not want, but if you like to have a slight tomato base; which goes great with the rosemary and lemon, you can use one can of chopped tomatoes having the same effect.  Be sure if you do though to substitute it for the fresh cut tomatoes. 

Now you can pretty much add anything you want at this point some frozen peas and corn too.  I added both.  Ok then! Everything added?  Great next cover your crock and let it do its thing.  About 3 hours in test the broth.  Determine if the Rosemary as infused your soup if so you may now remove it.  You can also add more bullion/base at this point if needed.  

Once your soup comes to a boil you can add rice, or macaroni.  I added 1 cup of dry macaroni noodles.  Adding it un~cooked will do a couple of things.  The vitamins in the noodles/rice wont be rinsed off by cooking it separately and the starch will help to thicken your soup slightly giving it a chunkier texture.

Your soup is done when your carrots are soft and your noodles and or rice are cooked.  Serve with a fresh sprig or rosemary on top and a grilled cheese sand-which or crackers!  Makes about 6-8 good size servings.

Tips: 

• Use veggies with lots of color variations in your soups.  Try to have all the colors!  Makes for beauty and taste. 
  
  

• Broil the chicken instead of boiling it in the soup.   It will be much more tender and retain some of that delicious broil taste.  Grilled would be good too!
  
  Enjoy!