Next Level Chicken Soup

“The trees are about to show us, how lovely it is to let the dead things go”

-Unknown

Summer certainly took a sharp turn here this year. Within 48 hours we went from sunny and 35 degrees to rainy and 15. The sun is starting to set earlier and is gone behind the horizon by 8pm. For those of us that live for those long, warm, easy living days, this signals the end of an era; an indication of what’s to come.

What’s to come is long, cold, dark days. With all of us seeking to find shelter from the wind and the snow. With little or no relief until the next turn of the sun. This all seems pretty bleak. And I have to admit…. For myself, it feels that way. It’s like a dark cloud that’s creeping closer and closer with no hope of stopping it.

It’s not all doom and gloom however. The cooler days can also mean…. It’s soup season!

This is a soup recipe that I’ve been playing around with for the last year or so and I think I may have perfected it. Or at least gotten the process down pat. This process includes making your own stock but I will post this recipe with the assumption that you’ll make your own or use a store bought stock. For the record, a home made stock will ALWAYS trump a store bought stock but I also understand that it can be quite time consuming.

The Ingredients

• 2 TBSP butter.
• 2 small-medium sized onions.
• 6 carrots.
• 4 stalks of celery.
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced.
• 2 Thai red peppers.
• 6 cups homemade (or store bought) chicken stock.
• Handful of fresh chopped parsley.
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
• 3 bay leaves.
• Kosher salt/Pepper to taste.
• Aleppo Chilies to taste
• 1 lb boneless/skinless chicken thighs.

The Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, melt butter and add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook until carrots start to soften.
2. Add garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, Thai peppers. Stir and let cook until fragrant.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
4. Add salt, pepper, and Aleppo chilies to taste. (You can omit the chili peppers if you like but I like my soup like I like my life… Hot and Spicy!)
5. make sure you taste the soup here and that it’s to your liking.
6. Add chicken thighs and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
7. Remove thighs and shred meat.
8. Return meat to pot.
9. Enjoy!

I freeze the majority of this soup so I don’t add rice, or pasta until I am going to eat it. Egg noodles go well with it.