for dinner

I made Kitchen Sink Soup for dinner tonight.

you know Anything but the kitchen sink.
(I also made more pudding.  it took less that 10 minutes!)

The only thing that is a constant in KSS is homemade chicken broth.

Today I made the broth with chicken breast bones from last night, an onion, a carrot, mushroom stems and basil leaves.  I simmered it until it smelled too good to bare anymore, then I drained the broth into a bowl and dumped the stuff, except for the carrot, I added that to the soup.
The premise of KSS is that you add what you have on hand.  Today it was:

Left over chicken
corn cut off a fresh cob
green beans
Shitaki mushrooms (the stems went into the broth!)
the carrot from the broth
buckwheat noodles.

I boiled the broth, added the stuff and waited for the noodles to be done.  Then I added more basil leaves.

I seldom don't add corn.  Usually it's frozen...
I often add a sausage.  I slice it up from frozen and add it in.
Then I add what ever veg. is in the fridge and other things laying around.  Zucchini, broccoli, garlic, onion, rice, soup beans (the cook quick), wild rice, carrots, potato, sweet potato, squash, spinach, shrimp, leftover meat/veg/pasta.

tutorial Tuesday?

ooops...I didn't prepare anything today...
why don't I tell you how I make my chicken stock?
There won't be any photos yet...I'll maybe add them in another day.

I call my chicken "triple threat chicken".  It acts, sings and dances!
wait...no.  It roasts, simmers and soups!

To make my stock, first I roast a chicken.  (a tutorial for another day!?)
Then we eat the chicken breasts with some sort of steamed green veg, maybe some rice, or potato.

Right now it's only the two of us, so that idea works well...'cause you can't eat more than that if it's going to be a triple threat.

With the rest of the meat, the legs, I make a curry, or burritos. 

DO NOT THROW OUT THE BONES/FAT/JUICES/CRUNCHY BAKED ON BITS/SKIN of your roast.  I just shove the whole roasting pan with the bones in the fridge after it's roasted.  Toss the leg bones back in the roasting pan on day 2.  If I have time, I make the stock on day 2.  Sometimes I don't, and I can make the stock on day 3.  Stop being so paranoid J...it's FINE...especially if I'm going to BOIL THE HECK out of it... (ahem, pardon me, my hubby is paranoid about food...he won't eat leftovers if they've been in the fridge for more than a day...if he eats them at all)
Now...If I know I can't get to making stock asap, I stick the bones and juices in the freezer.

Stick the bones, juices, fats, skin in a big pot.  Add 2 or 3 carrots snapped in half, a few stocks of celery snapped in half...thick white bits, leaves and all (yes, I do wash the dirt off), add a couple onions, skins and all, quartered.  Sometimes I add herbs...sometimes coriander.  Whatever you like really... oh, salt and pepper too.
Fill the roasting pan with water.  Take a spoon and scrape up all that yummy baked on chicken! Pour it over the stuff in your pot.  Keep using the roasting pan to add water until you have covered the bones and Veg.  now BOIL.  When it gets crazy, put the pot on simmer.  I say it's done when the carrots are soft...I've never timed it.  I turn off the heat, and let the pot cool all day or over night.  LID ON.  Not refrigerated.  I dunno, is that bad?  lol.  I heard from someone never to put hot food in the fridge.  Something about bacteria thriving...

Once it's cooled enough I strain it stock, either into another pot if I'm about to make soup, or into big tupperware and into the freezer.  If you are freezing it, leave a good 5 cm at the top for the stock to expand into.