Healing Crock Pot Chicken Soup
/This hearty soup is rich in amino acids that help to soothe digestion and boost immunity. It also contains plenty of vitamins (especially B vitamins) and minerals and water to enhance hydration and nourish your body, mind and soul. Plus, it’s easy to simmer all day in the crock pot while you are out and about and finish at dinner time. Try not to get overwhelmed by the steps and ingredients… it’s actually a very easy recipe once you try it once and is extremely forgiving. Feel free to swap out veggies and herbs for whatever you have in the fridge. In summer, this can be tomatoes, squash and zucchini!
Ingredients
1 whole pasture-raised chicken
I piece kombu (Japanese seaweed) Alternate: 1 bay leaf
Sprig of dried or fresh thyme (optional)
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 organic onions
1 head garlic
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 large or 2 small turnips, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 parsnips, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup butternut squash, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley
Instructions
Rinse the chicken and remove the giblet bag if there is one. Place your chicken right into the slow cooker and sprinkle liberally with sea salt and black pepper. Pour the contents of the giblet bag into the pot with the chicken for added nutrients (you will pull them out once they're cooked.)
Add the kombu and thyme and fill the crock pot with pure filtered water until the chicken is covered.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat easily falls off the bones. (my crockpot is a little temperamental so I like to cook on high for about 3 hours then slip over to low)
An hour to 45 minutes before the chicken is done, preheat oven to 425. Slice both ends of the garlic head off, wrap garlic in foil, and bake for about 35 minutes. Chop onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips and squash into bite-size pieces. Place on a baking sheet alongside the garlic and bake about 25 minutes, until soft and the edges begin to brown.
Meanwhile, carefully remove the whole chicken on to a large cutting board. You may want to wear gloves if you prefer and if the chicken has fallen completely apart you may need to strain into a sieve over a large bowl before dissecting chicken taking care not to lose one drop of broth!
Remove the bones, skin and nasty bits and shred all the chicken back into the broth. If you have removed the broth from the crockpot, place back in so it can keep warm and catch the chicken.
Remove the vegetables from the oven. Open the wrapped garlic and squeeze the now roasted garlic (it will be like a paste) into the soup.
Add the roasted veggies into the soup. Chop parsley and add into the soup.
Cook on low for 15-30 more minutes.
Top with fresh parsley and serve!
