Ann's Healthy Vegetable Soup
The idea for this soup came from a Good Housekeeping version of the old cabbage soup diet. I altered the recipe quite a bit and probably blew the diet guidelines. This is a two-day process, but time may be cut by using canned broth. Nevertheless, this is a tasty soup and still really low in fat.
List of Ingredients
1 old hen (or about 6 pounds chicken)
6 quarts water
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 bay leaf, optional
1/2 cup white wine
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced, optional
Combine ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cook about 3 hours or until chicken is very tender. Cool in sink or larger pot filled with ice cubes (I freeze plastic bottles filled with water and place them around the soup pot.)
Remove chicken. Reserve for other recipes*. Strain broth into a large container. Discard residue. Refrigerate broth overnight.
The next morning, remove solid fat from top of broth. Return approximately half the broth to the large soup pot. You will have about 2 1/2 quarts broth.
Bring the broth to a boil. Add:
4 stalks celery, chopped fairly fine
3 large onions, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
3 large carrots, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
2 bouillon cubes or 2 seasoning packages from Ramen noodles, optional
Simmer about 1/2 hour or until vegetables are very tender. Add:
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Simmer another half hour. Add:
1 small head cabbage (may be Nappa or Savoy), sliced as for slaw
2 packages frozen chopped spinach
1 cup barley
Simmer about an hour or until barley is cooked. Add:
1 can Italian green beans
1 can Great Northern beans
1 can large butter beans
1-2 yellow squash, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Simmer 1/2 hour and then add:
1 can white corn (or yellow)
Serve over cooked pasta, about 1/2 cup per serving.
Recipe
I keep this on hand and heat a cup in the microwave whenever I want a snack. I also have it 2-3 nights a week for dinner when I've prepared something higher in fat for my family. It's great maintenance food.
*Some chicken may be added to the soup, but it does increase fat and calories.
*Beef broth may be used to vary flavor. Again, fat and calories may increase.
I freeze any leftover broth from cooking the hen. Sometimes I freeze it in ice cube trays and then use a cube or two to steam-fry without fat.
I sometimes reduce the broth to about half and thereby double the flavor.
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