After months of no rain, we finally had our first few days of showers. Thank goodness we did because I was starting to get worried. I was so happy that it finally started to rain that I decided to whip out my stockpot and finally make a soup. This soup can get pretty spicy depending on how much cayenne pepper you decide to use, so if you cant handle the heat I recommend just leaving it out.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (sans the tortilla)


For The Stock

• 6 chicken legs (or you can also use the carcass of a chicken)
• 2 chicken breasts
• 3 carrots chopped
• 4 celery chopped
• 1/2 onion diced
• 10 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 cup parsley chopped

I prefer to make my own broth, but you can most likely use 2-3 boxes chicken broth and yield the same results

1. Fill a stockpot with water a little over halfway. (I didn’t measure how many cups, sorry!)
2. Throw in all your stock ingredients (Except for your 2 chicken breasts) and bring to a boil.
3. Once the water comes to a boil, turn it down to low and simmer.
4. After two hours of cooking throw in your 2 chicken breasts.
5. After a total of  3 hours turn off the heat and remove the chicken legs and breasts with tongs and place on a plate. (Once the chicken has cooled, shred it using your hands or two forks)
6. Pour the stock through a mesh sieve so that all you are left with is a clear broth. Discard all the vegetables.

For The Soup

• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• 1 onion diced
• 8 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 poblano chili diced
• 1 roasted red pepper diced
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with green chili’s
• 1/2 jalapeno minced
• 2 tbsp. chili
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 green onion chopped

1. Heat a stockpot over medium heat and melt the coconut oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Next add the bell pepper, and poblano chili, sauté for 3 minutes. 
3. Add the zucchini next and sauté another 3 minutes.
4. Throw the rest of the ingredients into the pot and mix. (Let everything heat up so that when you pour the stock in it wont take forever to come to a boil)
5. Once the ingredients inside the pot are hot and sizzling pour in your stock and shredded chicken in and let it come to a boil.
6. Cook on low for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Possible toppings

• Shredded cabbage
• Diced avocado
• Lime juice
• Plantain chips

I love this soup, it’s got the perfect amount of heat. I recommend not skimping on the toppings because it takes the soup to another level.

Today I made 2 soups. One was golden cauliflower soup from theclothesmakesthegirl. It was creamy and rich; I think the coconut milk really makes the soup. If I were to make it again though I would double the recipe so that I would have more leftover for the next day. Than I also made a chicken soup with onion, garlic, carrots, celery, pumpkin, zucchini, and chicken (duh). 

While I was cooking our friends stopped by to pay Ruben a visit. They ended up falling asleep on our couch... haha. Now that I think about it, a lot of our friends come over and fall asleep. Either we are really boring, or our couch is really comfortable. I prefer to think it’s the second one. After they woke up from their nap, we played heads up (download the app, its free and very entertaining) and than watched a movie. That was my day.



DAY 17

 Breakfast

• A bowl of pumpkin squash soup
• A cup of bone broth
• A bag of carrots

This morning I woke up with a soar throat. So I took preventative measure and drank a cup of bone broth.


Lunch

• A bowl of golden cauliflower soup from theclothesmakesthegirl
• 3 figs

Snacks: a plum, 3 figs, some more carrots.

Dinner

• Chicken soup

After uploading all the pictures for todays post, I just realized that all my meals today were soup.

It’s a perfect day for soup, tea, hot chocolate and all things cozy! Bone broth is pretty cozy you know. You may be asking yourself, what’s bone broth? GREAT QUESTION! It’s the result of lots of bones and veggies simmered together to make the best part of a soup, the broth. Its great to drink by itself, or I like to use it in recipes in place of chicken or beef stock.

Not only is it yummy, but it has great health benefits. It’s filled with minerals, helps relieve the body of toxins and is especially great for people experiencing digestion issues (i.e. constipation, leaky gut). I started making it after listening to one of Dr. Terry Wahls webinars about how her diet consists of a daily serving of bone broth, and how its helped her on her path of recovery from multiple sclerosis. I began doing research and decided to try it out. So far my husband and I really enjoy it. It’s great for when you’re feeling a bit under the weather, or when you simply want something warm and nourishing.

The best part is, its pretty cheap and easy to make! For about 2 pounds of 100% grass fed beef bones I pay between $5-$7 depending on where I get them from. Than, I use veggies that I normally already have in the fridge, especially if they are already kinda sad looking. I throw everything into a pot and simmer away!

I admit sometimes I get lazy and just decide to take the easy way out by buying the premade stuff from the store.  However recently I noticed ALL the ingredient labels for broth say “chicken flavor” or “beef flavor”. What the heck does that even mean? Sounds scary to me! So I decided to avoid store bought broth as much as possible, and simply make it at home. That way I know EXACTLY what is in it.

I know there are a lot of bone broth recipes out there, but since I use it quite a bit now I figured I’d post my recipe for it.

Bone Broth

Yields 9 cups

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Beef Bones (I used marrow bones)
• 3-4 carrots cut in thirds
• 2 stalks celery cut in thirds
• 1 medium onion quartered
• 7 cloves garlic unpeeled~ smashed or cut in half
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 cups of water

1. Take the first 7 ingredients and put them all in a stockpot or dutch oven. (I used my 5.5 quart dutch oven)
2. Now take only 12 cups of your water and pour it into your pot and let it simmer for 3 hours. Stirring it once in a while just to make sure nothing is sticking.
3. After 3 hours you will notice the water will have decreased, add 4 more cups of water to the pot.
4. Let broth cook for 3 more hours and add 4 more cups of water at the 6th hour of cooking.
5. Cook for 1 more hour (making it a total cooking time of 7 hours)
6. Let the broth cool. Take out the bones and carrots, and strain the broth through a sieve into a clean bowl. I strained mine about 4 times to make sure I had a nice clean broth with no bone pieces floating in it.
7. Place the broth in the fridge overnight. In the morning you should have fat discs floating on top. Just skim them off.
8. Now you can save your broth in the fridge for a few days OR freeze them in ice cube trays like I do, and use them whenever you need.

See! That wasn’t so hard or scary. Just dump everything into a pot and let it cook, and add water a few times. I have actually read that you can cook the broth for days if you like. Just keep adding water. Unfortunately I don’t have patience for that 

I like freezing the broth in ice cube trays because it’s easier to use for recipes and individual servings.

My ice cube tray holds about 2 tbsp. liquid in each cube, and 8 cubes is equal to 1 cup. I store the cubes in a zip lock bag, whenever I need some I just defrost it on the stove or in the microwave. Easy peezy!

And now you have yummy broth for whenever you feel sick, or a recipe calls for it.