Chicken Soup

I came up with this recipe when I was too sick to go through the trouble of actually making my own stock. This is much easier, and takes less than an hour from start to finish.

Ingredients

8 cups low sodium chicken stock (See note below for where to find this)
1 rotisserie chicken, approx 1 1/2 lbs (already cooked, available at any grocery store)
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tbl olive oil
2 tbl butter
2-3 tbl flour
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Preparation

Put butter and olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
When the butter is melted, put in carrots, celery, and garlic. Sweat vegetables over medium heat for approximately five minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add flour to form a roux, stirring for about two minutes, to mix thoroughly and cook the raw flavor out of the flour.
Pour in chicken stock slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Let simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until soup starts to thicken (should coat the back of a spoon).
While stock is simmering, remove skin from chicken and shred meat into small pieces.
When stock has thickened, add heavy cream (optional), taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Fold in shredded chicken.
Let soup heat chicken through, should take no more than 5-10 minutes at most, and enjoy (I like to serve it over egg noodles).

Note About Low Sodium Chicken Stock

You can find chicken stock in most grocery stores in one quart boxes (yes, boxes). Make sure to look for "Low Sodium," and look at the daily percentage table on the label. Low sodium stocks will contain around 3-4% of daily recommended intake. Non-low sodium versions can be anywhere from 20-35% per serving.

Sometimes regular grocery stores won't have the low sodium versions, but I have had no problems finding it at stores like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or other natural foods stores, if the regular store doesn't carry it.

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