Chicken Quinoa Soup with Homemade Bone Broth

Elizabeth Eats

Canned and most restaurant chicken soups are filled with MSG, a chemical that you definitely don't want to eat. Elizabeth starts off by showing you how to make your own bone broth at home; a food that's been around for hundreds of years and really does heal you from the inside out. She then turns the broth into a to-die-for Chicken Quinoa Soup that's easy to make and has a secret ingredient that will quickly turn this into your new favorite soup. You'll also learn extra tips and tricks to perfecting and storing your broth at home.

Makes: approximately 5 quarts of stock or 12 servings of soup

Ingredients

(use organic ingredients where possible)

• 1 whole organic chicken
• 2-3 carrots, roughly cut to fit into the pot
• 1-2 large ribs celery, cut in 2-3 pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 large white or yellow onion, cut in half
• 1½ tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 5 liters purified water

Directions

1. Add whole chicken and veggies to a large 6-quart stockpot. Include the neck in the bone broth for extra collagen.
2. Coat with spices and apple cider vinegar. Fill with purified water until the chicken and veggies are just covered.
3. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
4. Cook at a low simmer for 1 hour, then remove the chicken with a pair of tongs and pull the meat off the bones.
5. Add the bones back to the pot and cook for at least an additional 3-5 hours, or up to 8-12+ hours. (If you have a crock pot, you can simmer your bones overnight for even richer, more nutrient-rich broth.)
6. When the broth is finished, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl or pot to collect the liquid.
7. Store in airtight glass containers in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or in the freezer up to 6 months.

SIMPLE SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients

(use organic ingredients where possible)

• Finished broth and the chicken meat
• 2 carrots, chopped 
• 2 ribs celery with green tops, chopped
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1-2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• ¼-½ freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine broth, chicken, carrots, celery, and quinoa to the pot and simmer for approximately 20 minutes. 
2. Season with salt, to taste. Remove from heat and add the juice of half a lemon before serving.
3. Store in airtight glass containers in the refrigerator up to 4 days, or in the freezer up to 6 months.