Overnight Chicken Soup? What? How?
If you’re a regular reader, you can probably guess what I’m going to say: Make it in the slow cooker. After we eat a cozy roast chicken dinner (if you’re curious, I’m still in love with the super-fast, super-easy butterflying technique I blogged about a while back), I clear the table. But instead of scooping everything into the garbage, I take the carcass and all the random bones and toss them into the slow cooker. Add a couple peeled and chunked carrots, some cut-up celery, an unpeeled onion, quartered, and some peppercorns. Parsley’s nice if you’ve got it, but no biggie if you don’t. Parsnips, too. Add as much cold water as the cooker will hold and turn it on low. Wake up in the morning to rich, homemade Overnight Chicken Soup! Strain it and toss the solids, since they’ve given up all their flavor to the golden liquid that results. Refrigerate the broth, and in the evening skim off the congealed fat before using.
I used my most recent batch of broth to make Italian Wedding Soup; watch for a recipe this week. Seriously, folks, this is cooking even the busiest parent can pull off. And talk about multitasking: How many other ways can you think of to be this productive with your eyes closed?