Chicken Soup! The Jewish Cure-All!!

Think this delectable broth is difficult to make? Well, you'd be wrong if you said yes!! Ready? Here goes:

What you'll need:
A bunch of Parsley
four or five stalks of celery
a large onion
1 package baby carrots (or regular carrots, but you'll have to peel them and cut them into bite size pieces)
one small butternut or acorn squash
Chicken (you can use three or four chicken breasts, or three or four leg/thighs, or a mix of both, and you can add soup bones if you like...)

Salt

Pepper

Chicken bullion (I use the Osem Chicken Soup Mix)

Optional:
Half a bunch of dill (wash and look for bugs)
1 parsnip (they look like white carrots, only thicker)

If you want, you can turn this into a beef soup by putting in diced stew meat instead of chicken and using beef bullion (also Osem) instead of chicken bullion. But be sure to cook the soup for an extra half hour or so (two hours instead of an hour and a half)

Wash half the parsley (or the whole bunch if it's a small bunch) really well and look bugs. Same with the celery. Peel the onions (and carrots if you're not using baby carrots) and the butternut or acorn squash. Cut the onion into four pieces. Break the celery into three pieces per stalk. If you're using regular carrots, cut them into one inch long pieces. Slice the butternut or acorn squash, take out the seeds, then cut the slices into two pieces each. If you are using a large squash, save half for next week. If you are only using half a bunch of parsley, save that for next week too, but not beyond that. Put all this and the rest of your bunch of celery back in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.

Take the skin off of half the chicken. Leave the rest on. The fat in the skin gives the soup some body. Put the chicken in a large pot (ask your wife which one she uses to cook soup). Place all the veggies on top of the chicken. Fill pot with water almost to top (leave about two inches; if you don't, when the soup starts to boil, it'll boil over and make a big mess). Add salt, pepper, and chicken bullion to taste. Remember, don't overdo the salt. You can always add salt later; you can't take it out if you put too much.

Bring to a boil on a medium-high flame (8 on an electric stove). After it boils, reduce heat to a medium low flame (3 on an electric stove). Allow to cook for about another hour and a half. Don't overcook. If you do, your veggies will be soggy.

You may strain the soup. I always do. I take off the rest of the skin. Get rid of the bones. I take out the parsley and celery as well. Strain the broth into another pot. Put back the carrots, squash, and onions if you like, as well as the chicken, into the broth. VOILA!! You've got the age old, well-tested, and even more well-known than penicillin anti-biotic: You've got Chicken Soup. A most powerful weapon in the everlasting struggle against colds, body aches, and other common ailments.

You also have a classic Shabbos dish! ENJOY and have a GREAT SHABBOS!!!