Cam's Roast Chicken and Whatever Vegies are in the Fridge Soup

Today's recipe is from Cam, who will also answer to Ms Curlypops! See her fun crafty blog here.

Cam writes: "Here's my all time favourite recipe - this is what I cook when I'm feeling down or a little bit sick. I always get chicken soup cravings and this fits the bill perfectly. The recipe originated from my complete dislike of vegies. I figured that if I was craving chicken soup when I was sick, then I should probably try to make it healthier by adding vegies.

The other condition, of course, was that it had to be something that I could make using ingredients that I already had in the fridge or the cupboard (I always have packaged chicken stock in the pantry). My solution was to just grab all the vegies that I had and put them through the food processor before cooking.


Adding the basmati rice was an addition that came along a little bit later when someone complained that soup was not a real meal, and that you couldn't just have soup for dinner!"



Roast Chicken and Whatever Vegies are in the Fridge Soup:


INGREDIENTS / METHOD:
1. Peel and prepare any vegies that you have. As a minimum, I usually use potato, pumpkin, onion, garlic, carrot, and celery (because I usually always have these in the fridge).

2. Choose any extra vegies that you have. I had a corn cob in the fridge lastnight so I added it.

3. Put all the vegies through the food processor using the grating attachment.

4. Put the grated vegies in a large stock pot (I actually use my electric wok).

5. Add chicken stock (I usually use 2 litres).

6. Simmer for a couple of hours - you may need to add some water during this time.

7. Take all the meat from a roasted chicken (I buy one at my local Charcoal chicken shop for extra flavour). Chop up and add to the soup.

8. At this stage, you can also add 1 cup of Basmati Rice (for a more substantial meal).

9. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes (or until the rice is cooked).

10. Add salt and pepper to taste

11. Serve with toast or some nice crusty bread and butter.

* Cam adds: "To make it a vegetarian recipe, just omit the chicken, and use vegie stock instead of chicken stock. Then because the chicken is already pre-cooked, you can just throw it in at the end when serving to anyone in the family who likes chicken."

Thank you Cam!