Anthony Pierpont from Minnesota writes in: “You don’t have to do a lot to make chicken soup for the soul which really means making soup from your heart as well as your mind. When care and sincerity goes into the making of chicken soup, care and sincerity comes out. You can taste the difference.”
Chicken Dumpling Soup
Ingredients:
1 – medium sized chicken
1 onion halved
2 celery stacks cut into mouth sized bites
2 carrots cut into mouth sized bites
Place the medium-sized chicken into a pot and just cover it with water. Bring chicken to a boil. So not add vegetables otherwise they will be too soft. Reduce to medium and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes more. Remove chicken from pot. Cool. After chicken cools, remove the meat from the bones then add bones back to pot. Add vegetables. Cook 1/2 hour more over medium heat. Vegetables will be cooked al dente – not too well done and retaining texture.
Prepare:
2 celery stalks – diced
3 carrots diced
1 C. chopped onion
Strain chicken stock and return to pot. Add 2 cups of water and chicken meat. Simmer another 20-25 minutes. While the broth simmers, make your dumplings.
Dumplings:
2 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 eggs
2 T. sour cream
2 T. butter
Add butter, eggs, sour cream and salt. Mix well. Add flour and baking soda. If the dough is too stiff, add milk until it softens and has a rubbery texture.
Add dumplings to broth in addition to vegetables. Cook another 15 minutes.
How to Thicken Soup:
4 T. flour
6 T. warm water
Stir flour into warm water a tablespoon at a time until mixture is watery – no clumps. Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes until it thickens.
There are a number of little things that you can bring to the table (so to speak!) to make your soup extra special. Ever think about preparing soup broths in advance?”
Anthony Pierpont Tips: How to Make Soup Broths and Soup Extra Special
- Prepare a soup broth recipe in advance to use as a base for more complex soups. This way, the flavor of the ingredients placed in the broth will have time to intermingle. You’ve heard people comment that food usually tastes better the next day? This is the reason. Prepared foods need time to mature.
- Add a garnish that makes soup recipes pleasing to the eye- and the palate. Curled greens, a sprinkling of fresh herbs, grated cheese or sour cream all work well. Use your imagination to come up with something special for your cabbage soup recipe.
- Homemade croutons put boxed croutons to shame. Plus, they’re a practical way to get the most out of your bread. Freeze stale bread and when you have enough to make croutons, defrost and cube the bread and mix in a large bowl with melted butter and any sweet-smelling herbs of your choice. Mix several varieties of breads for the best-tasting croutons. Serve them alongside soup in tiny dishes- your guests will gobble them up!
- Make your table appetizing too- We use bread bowls, our best china, chargers, cloth napkins, individual Japanese ladles, a pretty tablecloth and of course, candlelight.”
How to make soup that’s elegant without breaking the bank, taking a cooking class, or really knowing much of anything about soup recipes. It’s easy to do- just set aside your concern that you’ll ruin a good soup recipe and accept that you may have a few errors- and a few trials- before you find the best soup recipe.
According to Sam Jzazinksi, serving a broth that’s reinforced with Lipton soup at a dinner party is a win-win; it’s elegant, easy and just about everyone likes to eat soup. Mix a hearty homemade cabbage soup recipe with an elegant main course for dinner parties; let it stand on its own during a family brunch. The “fancy” cabbage soup recipe shown here is a favorite for our friends and family, especially in the crisp fall season.
Sam Jzazinksi’s Fancy Cabbage Soup Recipe Made Easy with Lipton Soup.
1/2 lb bacon
3 sweet onions, chopped
1/2 lb beef, chopped
1/2 lb pork, chopped
5 red potatoes, sliced
Salt & Pepper
1/2 lb kielbasa or turkey sausage, sliced
1 large head of cabbage, cored and chopped or shredded
5 apples, peeled and chopped
1 can beef broth (Lipton soup makes the best version)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Lipton soup
- Cook bacon in large pot. Drain off fat, chop bacon and return to pot.
- Add onions and sauté over low heat for 5-10 minutes, until onions are soft.
- Add chopped beef and pork and cook through.
- Add potatoes. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Add seasonings, sausage, cabbage and apples. Let simmer for another 10 minutes, turning often.
- Transfer everything to crock-pot. Add Lipton soup beef broth and cream of mushroom Lipton soup.
- Cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 hours, on LOW for an additional 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally.
Simple Soup Broth Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole good sized chicken
- 1 medium turnip quartered
- 2 leeks white part only cleaned thoroughly and quartered
- 1 small rutabaga quartered
- 3 ribs of celery with leaves halved
- 12 parsley stems
- 2 large carrots quartered
- 2 large onions quartered
- 8 peppercorns crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Kosher or coarse salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Clean the chicken by placing it in a bowl, hind legs up, under a faucet of cool running water for 10-15 minutes. Let water drain over top of bowl and into sink. Before flushing with water, discard giblets, kidneys, etc. that are present in the cavity. Rub salt over the entire chicken inside and out with kosher or coarse salt.
After 30 minutes, wash the salt from the chicken and place it in a medium to large stockpot. Cover chicken with turnip, leeks, rutabaga, celery, parsley, carrots, onions, peppercorns, and thyme. Cover with 4 or 5 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, occasionally skimming the foam from the top so it doesn’t flow over onto your stovetop.
Remove the chicken and place it on a large platter. Remove most of the meat from the chicken for sandwiches and later meals then place the bones back into the pot and simmer for one more hour.
Strain the soup, refrigerate then remove hardened fat from the surface. Voila. With a little bit of salt and pepper to taste, you have your broth.
Contributors:
- Anthony Pierpont
- Sam Jones
