Chicken soup with chickpeas

Who doesn’t love chicken soup? Those people who keep trying to eat low carb! Well, I figured out something that works in our family and tastes wonderful!. The comfort of homemade chicken soup and the lower, healthier carbs of chickpeas. All the flavor and healthy too!

This recipe does require a little planning because I take the fat off after it’s been refrigerated overnight. You know the whole healthy thing :)!

I love using what’s left of my roasted chicken from the grocery store (who are we kidding, I mean Costco!). There is always tons of meat left on it and I sometimes just don’t want to take it off for chicken salad. Here is how I make my chicken soup.

Ingredients:
Chicken carcass with some chicken on it.
2 or 3 stalks celery
1 small onion or equivalent amount
2 large carrots (or equivalent small)

1 cup chopped carrots
1 ½ cup chopped chicken (eventually from carcass)
1 large can chickpeas
soup base (if needed)

Get out a large pot. Place chicken carcass into it.

I added 8 cups of water.

Add the 2 or 3 stalks of celery (rinsed and cut into 2 or 3 inch pieces). Add onion (cut into big pieces and the 2 large carrots (rinsed and cut into big pieces).

Ummmm, they can’t seem to figure out the official scientific reason why chicken soup helps with a cold. The nutrients from the veggies maybe??

Boil everything and then turn to a low simmer. I always simmer for about 2 hours. It just gets all the flavor out of those bones.

Strain the bones and veggies from your homemade soup base (I put a calendar into another big pot and pour everything in). Do it in a clean sink in case there is an oops.

Let it cool for a few minutes and start picking off the chicken. I usually can get about a cup and a half of chicken pieces.

Cut any larger pieces into smaller pieces. If you know ahead of time that there isn’t enough chicken, precook a chicken breast to use.

Put the pot into the fridge overnight. The fat rises to the top and solidifies.

The next day, pull out the pot and skim the fat off. What remains is most likely a jiggly, gelatinous soup base. That’s what you want. It’s the base for yummy healthy chicken soup!

Once you heat it, it turns back into liquid soup stock. I like mine stronger so I add some powdered soup base. It just adds a little more saltiness and flavor. This is a personal preference thing. Taste and then decide if you would like to add.

So, when you heat your soup stock, add a cup of chopped carrots. I discovered smaller pieces are easier to eat. Personal preference as to how you want to chop your carrots. Whatever carrots you have in the fridge are fine.

Add the chicken.

Add a can of chickpeas. I use a large can (!9 oz?).

Heat thoroughly and then enjoy!