Ultimate Comfort: Chicken Soup from the Heart

There is nothing unusual or magic about this chicken soup. It just always works--bringing warmth, comfort, and peace into our house. It is particularly delicious when served with kneidlach (matzo balls) and/or kreplach (sort of like wantons). Hope your loved ones feel loved when you make it. This soup can easily be doubled, tripled, you name it. It freezes well without the veggies, and is great to have on hand in the freezer.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 35 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3  lbs chicken parts (more or less)
• 1  large onions or 2  small onions, peeled and left whole
• 4  garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
• 1  lb carrot, peeled, cut up into sizes of your choice
• 3 -4  stalks celery, cut in half
• 2  small zucchini, cut into a few large chunks
• 1  bunch fresh dill
• 1  bunch fresh parsley
•  salt
•  pepper

Directions

1. Clean chicken, put it in an 8 to 10 quart soup pot, and add enough water to fill the pot about 3/4 of the way. Put on a relatively high flame and cover. When the scummy stuff begins to come out of the chicken (as it begins to boil), skim it off with a big spoon and toss it out. Bring to a slow boil or a fast simmer (sounds like a dance step, eh?), and cook about another 30 minutes.
2. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Continue to cook for about another hour or two.
3. Add parsley and dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 30 minutes, then taste to adjust seasoning.
4. If you want to make it more lean, cool the soup down, skim off the fat and reheat.
5. Enjoy!