Chicken Soup for the Soul

Hola CFT . Hazel here. Chick, I’m sick! Therefore, my post has to be abbreviated. Seems I have come down with a nasty, nasty sinus infection and my head is currently floating outside of my body. I’m operating at 25 %. My next post will reflect how truly excited I am to be a part of the CFT family but tonight I give you soup. Matzo Ball Soup with Homemade Chicken Broth. That’s been my world for the last 2 days. If you want the recipe, keep reading. For the Homemade Stock start with a cut up roasting chicken, a large yellow onion quartered, 3 large carrots cut into large pieces, 4 celery stalks cut into large pieces, Bunch of fresh Parsley, Dill, Rosemary, Thyme- anything you like with poultry that you have on hand, 3-4 cloves of garlic peeled, 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt and 1 tsp of black peppercorns. Place everything in a large stock pot and cover with water.
Simmer uncovered 2 hours or so. Strain the entire contents through a colander and discard the solids. (Compost the veggies- more on that later!) Chill the stock overnight and remove the surface fat the next day. At this point I put the stock back on the stove and add 1 Tablespoon organic Better Than Bouillon chicken base and bring back to a boil. Check to see if it needs any additional salt or pepper.
Start the Matzo Balls. At the store pick up a pack of Manischewitz Matzo Ball mix. Follow the directions and be sure to boil the balls in water NOT stock. I like big balls just so you know. Now add the finished Matzo balls to your homemade broth and you will have a winning bowl of goodness that might make you feel better or at least like a good Jewish mother.