Texas Chicken Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Place the chicken, celery, carrots, onions, parsnip (if using), parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a large soup pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to very low. Adjust the heat until the soup is "smiling": barely moving on the surface, with an occasional bubble breaking through. Cook uncovered, until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bone, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When cool enough to handle, use tongs to transfer chicken from the pot to a container. Taste the broth and continue to simmer it until it is concentrated and tasty. Strain broth through a fine sieve (or a colander lined with cheesecloth) into a separate container. Discard all the solids from the strainer (or reserve the vegetables, chill and serve with vinaigrette, if you wish).
• Refrigerate chicken pieces and broth separately for at least 8 hours (or up to 3 days), until a thick layer of yellow fat has risen to the top of the broth.
• When ready to finish the soup, use your fingers to separate chicken breast meat from bones and skin. Discard bones and skin. Use two forks to pull the breast meat apart into soft chunks, or use a knife and cut into bite-size pieces. (Reserve dark meat for another use.)
• Skim chicken fat from top of broth and set aside. Place 3 tablespoons of the fat in a soup pot with a lid. Add leeks, stir to coat, and heat over medium heat until leeks begin to fry. Then reduce the heat to a gentle sizzle and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add carrots, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover the pot. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes more. (Keep in mind that vegetables will continue to cook in the soup.) Do not brown.
• Pour broth into pot with vegetables and heat to a simmer. Add noodles and simmer until heated through, soft and plumped with chicken broth. Add the breast meat, then taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, soup should have some golden droplets of fat on top; if needed, add more chicken fat one teaspoon at a time.
• Serve immediately, in a tureen or from the pot, sprinkling each serving with herbs.

Steps:

• Put a large stock pot on medium heat. Into the large pot, empty the canned stuff and mix in the two packets of seasoning.
• For best results use the "Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix.".
• Chop the onion and chop the chicken breast, then put both into a skillet with a bit of olive oil over medium heat until the chicken is cooked.
• Once the meat is browned, drain and add the chicken and onion to the stock pot.
• Cover and simmer for one hour.
• Sprinkle shredded cheese over each bowl and serve with torilla chips.

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, heat butter and oil over medium heat.
• Add onions, jalapeno, garlic, carrots and raw chicken.
• Simmer 5 minutes.
• Stir in seasonings.
• Add tomatoes and chicken broth.
• Stir well and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• To serve, crumble tortilla chips in the bottom of individual soup bowls.
• Fill bowls with soup and top with cheese.