If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know two things about me: I’m a lifelong vegetarian, and I love my grandmother. If you’re wondering why you should take advice on how to make homemade chicken soup from me, rest easy friends, this one is from Grandma.
Chicken Soup; Not Just for Flu Season
Chicken soup is internationally recognized as the food of choice for the down trodden. Got the flu? Chicken soup. Common cold? Chicken soup. Rotator cuff surgery? That’s right, chicken soup!
As I’m writing this, my husband is down the hall undergoing his 3rd shoulder surgery. You heard it… 3rd shoulder, 15th overall. (Isn’t football life fancy?)
Besides being a comforting cliche, there is actual science supporting chicken soup’s healing powers. So when there’s a man down in this house, chicken soup is on the stove!
This recipe is so special to me and has been a part of our family for generations. A big thank you to my little “Granny” for demonstrating how it’s done and letting me use her kitchen in the house where I grew up!
The Soup
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken thighs
- 3 large carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 medium onion
- parsley
- salt and pepper
What to do:
- Wash chicken and place in bottom of an 8 quart pot.
- Fill 3/4 of the way full with water and bring to a boil.
- When the foam on top of the water turns brown, skim it off with a large spoon and discard. Try not to think about this part… it’s kinda gross.
- Add 1/2 tsp. salt to water and cook for 1/2 an hour at an “easy boil”.
- Add vegetables and a pinch of salt to the pot. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until veggies are tender.
- Remove chicken thighs from pot, shred meat, and return to pot (discard skin and bones).
The Dumplings (Kluski)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- about 6 oz. of cold water
What to do:
- In a small bowl, mix first three ingredients.
- Add water, a little bit at a time and keep mixing.
- Add water until dough is very soft and can be beaten with a fork.
- Boil 3 quarts of water.
- Drop dough by the tsp. into boiling water.
- “Kluski” will rise to the top when it’s done.
- Drain and serve in soup.
A few side notes:
- When we did the photoshoot for this post my sweet grandma was a little concerned about her hands being in the shots; she said the hands really show a person’s age. Well, Granny, so does a boatload a great-grandchildren… and you have a lot of them. Plus, I think her hands are beautiful. They lived through the depression and a world war. They raised my mother, and they helped raise me. They can paint, draw, play the piano, and cook the best chicken soup in the world! I love your hands and I love you!
- One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was to keep a collection of hand-written recipes. When I left home for Massachusetts with Matt I took a simple spiral notebook and started gluing recipes in it from my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, Matt’s grandmothers, aunts, sister-in-laws, friends,… everyone. It’s a true treasure and I would highly recommend creating one for yourself.
- As I’m wrapping up this post we are back home, several days into recovery, and our patient is doing great! Since many of you may never have rotator cuff surgery, I thought I’d give you an inside look at the marvels of modern medicine and the advancements made by the most respected hospitals and orthopedic surgeons in the world; this my friends is how they know where to cut….
- By the way, Dr. Gill really missed an opportunity here… he could have written or drawn whatever he wanted on Matt that day. If the roles were reversed the good doc would have woken up with a Mike Tyson tribal face tattoo. C’mon Tom!
If you like Grandma’s chicken soup recipe, check out this one for her apple pie!!
Kristen
March 10, 2017I keep an old recipe box too. Always nice to see the handwriting from your loved ones. There is no cookbook on earth that can compare to our own passed down family favorites, and there are some pretty darn good cookbooks out there. ? Great post, Susie! Hope Matt is feeling great soon.
slight72
March 10, 2017Kristen! There is a recipe from you in my book for turtle brownies! I was just thinking about you today. I’ll snap a pic and send it to you! Xoxo
Brittany
March 10, 2017I love her hands too ?I’m making this soup asap. Always wanted to know how to make a chicken soup! . Plus I remember you once saying something about the bone marrow from the chicken ? and how it helps heal us! Love you girls !
slight72
March 10, 2017You will love it! It’s so easy and everyone goes crazy for it! Gemma will love it too! Xoxo
Karen Leahy
March 11, 2017I have a recipe for my husbands grandmothers chicken soup but I will have to try this recipe, her recipe does not use dumplings! I firmly believe in chicken soup when we are down and out! I cherish the recipes from my grandmother that are in her hand writing! Thank you for sharing and I knew they were not your hands and I thought how sweet I wonder if those were your Grandma’s hands and then to find out they were…even better!!!
slight72
March 11, 2017Oh yeah, that was her, right in her kitchen where I grew up. It’s so helpful for me to document these things because it’s so easy to forget how things should be done!!
Let me know what you think!
Susie 😉
Nicole Rice
March 12, 2017Is it something that this post just made me love my weathered hands. Before I even got to the part about Grandma’s hands I was thinking “I love seeing her hands”. They show the years of hard work in making a family. Grandma you look great!!
slight72
March 14, 2017Yay! I love to hear that! It’s actually made me appreciate mine a little too!!
Susie
Xoxo
Karen
March 14, 2017What a great day to make chicken soup and try your Granmother’s recipe for Kluski’s! They are delicious and perfect for a day like today! Thumbs up!
slight72
March 14, 2017This was definitely the perfect Chicken soup and Kluski day!! Hope you enjoyed it!
Susie
Xo