Magic Chicken Soup

Organic Mama's Magic Chicken Soup

1 whole organic uncooked chicken, remove gizzards & throw into the freezer till later (unless you like them in your soup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 stocks of celery, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped
4-7 cloves FRESH crushed garlic (immune boosting)
2 T. Olive oil
Sage (has drying properties)**See note!!***
Sea Salt to taste (several Tablespoons)

One Large stew pot

Optional items - to be added once broth is strained:
1-2 cups cooked rice. Cooked so you don't lose all the liquid in your soup. Great for those suffering from tummy distress.
Any veggies you love to eat with chicken. Cut them into bite sized pieces so they're appealing to kids.
Egg noodles

Instructions:

1. Heat stew pot from med to med-high and add 2 T olive oil. It should easily swirl in pan 

2. Add veggies (except garlic) and a couple pinches of salt to taste 

3. When veggies are translucent, throw in garlic and cook for a minute more. Don't burn it because burnt garlic tastes just dreadful!!! 

4. Place whole chicken (be sure to take out the guts first!) in pan and add water to cover the chicken by several inches 

5. Add a small handful of sage

6. Bring chicken to a boil and simmer till cooked (depending on size between 1 1/2 to 2 hours) 

7. Salt and pepper to taste

8. SERIOUSLY - SALT IT or it just won't taste good!!

Another great way to make this is just to dump the ingredients in a crockpot and cook all day or overnight.

Lazy girl (or really sick mama) method: When chicken is cooked, use the broth straight out of the pan and serve but watch for chicken bones.
Motivated person method: Pour the liquid through a strainer into another pan or heat proof bowl. Place back in the pan and add egg noodles or rice and veggies as desired. When the chicken is cool enough, pull the meat off the bones and throw it back into the soup or use part of it throughout the week to make other chicken rich dishes.

It's perfectly ok to add a little extra water if you find you've overdone it on the rice or veggies.

It's important to use a whole chicken because the bones have nutrients that will strengthen and heal too!

****Pregnant mamas who have a tendency toward miscarriage may want to avoid sage. The rest of this recipe should be fine for you!****