Flus and colds can bother your children at any time of the year. During this damp and rainy spring, you might find your little one has come down with symptoms that have knocked out her appetite significantly. Before you reach for the chicken noodle soup at the grocery store, here’s a recipe for an easy vegetable and chicken broth that young children treat as if it’s liquid gold. It provides liquid and nutrition that help to reassure you that something nutritious is helping your child.
Utensils
Do you have a large stock pot? Preferably a pot that’s about 50% larger than a Dutch oven. If not you can use a smaller pot, but you should adjust your ingredients accordingly
Ingredients
1 large chicken breast (Bone in and skinned. Place your thumb under the skin and start ripping. The skin will come off easily. Preferably the chicken should be organically grown, or from a good quality meat supply company)
1 small piece of ginger (Skin removed with a potato peeler and cut to be the size of two dice)
Water (Enough to fill your pot 3/4 full)
1 large Kobacha squash (Skin on and sliced into triangles. Be careful making the first cut.)
4 large carrots (Peeled and sliced in quarters)
2 stalks celery (Sliced into quarters)
1/2 red pepper (sliced into chunks)
1 cob of corn (Husk off and cut into thirds)
Sea salt, pepper and dried basil (Added according to your taste)
Instructions
Fill your pot 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil.
Add in the skinless chicken and the piece of ginger. Boil for half an hour.
Add in your vegetables, salt and pepper. Bring water back to a boil and then simmer, cover 3/4 on, at medium low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
During the last 30 minutes add dried basil or italian seasoning. This step can be skipped.
When your soup has finished, remove your chicken meat and vegetables and strain the soup through a sieve with fairly large holes. You want to catch any chunks of vegetables that haven’t yet been removed, but want smaller vegetable and meat fiber to go through to the broth.
Later on the chicken can be pulsed in a food processor with some of the vegetables and added to chopped noodles or rice for your child once his appetite returns.
Serve the soup at warm temperature. (Test to make sure it is not too hot.) Extra soup may be freezed for future use over the course of the next few days.
If you think you will need a fair amount of soup over the next few days, consider making a double batch of soup.
This recipe is as easy as it sounds and your child will love it!
Related
If you like soup recipes, check out the attractively illustrated Blue Moon Soup. Not only does it have a good selection of different types of soups for all occasions, but it is a show piece featuring the illustrations of the talented Jane Dyer.
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