Luke's "Mostly Organic" Chicken Soup

When Dan came home he said, "It smells good in here, what's for dinner?"  I had to let him down when I informed him it was a big batch of chicken soup for the littlest Farrington in the house.  It did smell delicious! In fact, it made so much that I ran out of ice cube trays and ate a bowl of un-pureed soup with some salt and pepper for dinner.  Luckily, Luke loved the soup (he made the cutest giggling noises as Dan fed him!) because there are about 6 dozen servings in the freezer!!  I even cut the recipe in half, thank goodness.  Ok, so if you have a baby or just want some soup for yourself, here is the recipe. Just skip the pureeing and add salt and pepper if it's for an adult.  You can add or delete any vegetables that you want, it will still be delicious and so nutritious!  It is mostly, but not obsessively, organic.  I used some things I already had in the pantry and the grocery stores around my house have a small selection of organic produce.  I try to use this list to make the smartest decisions when buying organic produce. 

Chop chop!

Simmer down now...

Puree...ugly but tasty.

Luke's "Mostly Organic" Chicken Soup
adapted from "Alba's Chicken Soup" in Baby Love by Norah O'Donnell and Chef Geoff Tracy

Makes about 1 gallon of soup
Appropriate for babies 8 mo. and older (pureed accordingly)

3 quarts water
2 bone-in natural & happy chicken breasts
1/2 cup small diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 lb. organic celery, small diced
16 oz. frozen organic diced vegetables (no salt) with peas, carrots, corn
8 oz. frozen green beans, chopped into smaller pieces
1/2 zucchini, small diced
5 oz. fresh organic baby spinach, rough chopped
pinch of dried thyme
(Other veggies you might want to add:  tomato, potato, yellow squash, cilantro)

Directions:
1. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot (8 quart)
2. Place chicken breasts, onion and garlic in water and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Remove chicken breasts (and any parts that got away) and set aside.
4. Add brown rice and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. While rice simmers, remove meat from bones and chop.  Be sure to remove all fat, skin, cartilage, and bones!!
6. Add celery (and diced potato, if using) and simmer for 15 minutes and stir.
7. Add frozen veggies, green beans, and zucchini.  Simmer for 10 minutes and stir.
8. Add chopped chicken, spinach and thyme.  Simmer for 5 minutes and stir.
9. Working in batches, puree the soup to desired consistency.  I used a blender with a towel placed over the hole in the lid (because the soup was still hot).
10. Pour soup into ice cube trays (I had to use 5 ice cube trays, 5 "baby cubes",
and 2 small bowls with lids. Holy soup!)
11. Freeze and pop out a cube whenever your little one needs a healthy and complete meal!