Weight Loss Recipes: Tasty Chicken Soup

We never waste any part of a chicken or turkey. Once most of the meat is off, the carcass goes into a pot with about 4 quarts of water, a couple teaspoons of lite salt, and some celery tops, if I have them on hand.

Once the carcass has simmered for 30-45 minutes, I remove the pot from the heat and let the carcass and the liquid cool. If there is meat or bone left floating in the broth, I'll use a strainer to remove all of the particles from the broth. The liquid then goes into the refrigerator to continue to cool over night, and the carcass is cleaned of all remaining meat. The meat will be stored with other scraps of chicken or turkey I've saved for the soup and the carcass is thrown out.

The next day an hour or more before I plan to serve the soup, I skim off the congealed fat, add a little more water or chicken broth if the liquid has boiled down below about 3 quarts, and then I reheat, adding two packets of onion soup mix. 1/4 cup of white or brown rice will also go into the mixture and be simmered for 20 minutes while I prepare vegetables. I'll usually add another 1-2 tsp. of lite salt, 1 tsp. of black pepper, and a couple of bay leaves for flavor while the broth and rice are simmering.

Usually, I will add 2 cups of sliced carrots and 2 cups of sliced celery to the mix. Another good veggie to add to the soup mix is broccoli, which adds more vitamins and minerals to the soup than the celery. The cut up pieces of left over chicken or turkey will be added maybe 15 minutes before serving the soup.

This delicious dish will only set the diet back 100-150 calories, is hearty and filling.

Liz Nichols