Cheater Chicken Soup

Very occasionally, we’ll pick up a grocery store rotisserie chicken for dinner. To alleviate the guilt of not having made dinner from scratch, I stretch that bird to cover a few meals and then use the carcass as the basis for what I call cheater chicken soup. It’s cheating because it’s not entirely made from scratch but boy is it tasty. I prefer pasta in the soup because the pasta ends up behaving like dumplings. Use potatoes if you prefer that instead.

This is not a complicated recipe in terms of hands on time but does take two days just so you can get your broth properly made.

Ingredients: 
The carcass of one rotisserie chicken OR the remnants of a whole chicken you’ve previously roasted
Two carrots, peeled and diced
About half of a medium white onion, coarsely chopped
One small potato, diced into cubes OR a handful or two of your favorite uncooked pasta
Two stalks celery, diced
A liberal sprinkling of Italian seasoning
One bay leaf
Lots of water

Directions:

Day 1
Simmer the carcass and seasonings in enough water to fill a large stock pot for several hours.
Cool overnight.

Day 2

• Strain and discard the fat from the surface of the broth.
• Pick off any meat remnants from your carcass and toss into the broth.
• Add the vegetables.
• If you are using pasta, add the pasta.
• Simmer for another couple of hours.
• Add salt and pepper to taste to your individual bowls.