When feeling ill, mom always turned to chicken soup. As cold and flu season approaches, it is wise to have a jar of chicken stock, the start of chicken soup, ready to go in the kitchen. It is made by simmering bones, vegetables and seasonings together for hours until a tasty, savory nutritious broth is ready. It’s great for sipping on a cold day or when feeling ill. It can be used to sauté vegetables like spinach or mushrooms, to cook a healthy pot of warm soup quickly, added to recipes in the Crock Pot like ribs or roast beef, poured over fish and spinach to bake in the oven and so much more.

People on the paleo diet will make broth from bones, and then sip it in the morning in place of coffee, or get truly unique and create popsicles from it.

Chicken dinner on Monday, broth on Tuesday

Ingredients. Whole chicken, 2 choppedcarrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 chopped onion, 1 lemon cut in half, 1 T Herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, 2 Bay Leaves, 3 quarts water plus additional vegetables and scraps for broth: carrots, celery, onion. Hint: when peeling vegetables during the week, save scraps and peels in a bag in the freezer and pull this out when it is time to make broth.

Instructions. Add vegetables to Crock Pot. Wash chicken and pat dry. Remove any innards. Put peeled garlic and lemon inside chicken.

Liberally coat chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Herbes de Provence. Cover. Set on Low for 8 hours. Dinner for the night and leftovers for tomorrow. After dinner, save the bones to make broth. Place all the bones back into the pot. Add any root vegetables on hand to get rid of such as carrots, celery, and onion.

Add 2 bay leaves, 3 quarts water, 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar and cook on Low for 24-48 hours. When you wake up, your home will smell like a restaurant. The longer it cooks, the more nutrients come from the bone broth. Strain, discard the solids, cool and store in glass pint jars.

Traditional chicken broth

Ingredients. 3 quarts water, whole chicken cut-up, 1 chopped onion, 3 choppedcelery stalks, 2 choppedcarrots, 2 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 T Italian seasoning.

Instructions. Cut the chicken into pieces. Put in a large pot with water and slowly heat up on Medium heat. Let simmer for 3-4 hours. Add the vegetables and seasonings. Simmer for one hour. Strain. Once cool, store in pint jars in the refrigerator.

Quick Sunday afternoon chicken broth

This stock is a good all-purpose stock ifthere is not much time. Let it simmer while watching Sunday football.

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon oil, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped carrot, 2 choppedstalks ofcelery, 2 bay leaves, 4 pounds chicken with bones. Legs or backs and wings are good to use. 2 quarts cold water and 1 T Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add vegetables and sauté until tender.

Move the vegetables to a bowl. Addthe chicken pieces to the pot and brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes. Return the vegetables to the pot with the chicken and turn the heat to low, cover and cook about 15-20 minutes to release juices. Add water, salt, bay leaves and vinegar. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to a few hours. As long as you have. Strain the stock. Debone the chicken and save for salads, sandwiches and other recipes through the week. Discard the remaining solids. When cool, place in large pint Mason Jars. Save in refrigerator for up to one week. Save in freezer after that.

All three of these methods will make a great chicken broth.

It is a great chicken broth if when refrigerated overnight and the next morning when the fat is skimmed off, it looks like chicken gelatin. The gelatin and flavor is from the bones and good for you. Many healthy diet movements state the benefits of drinking broth regularly including support of the detoxification process, digestive and immune system support, good skin and help for a cold.