Pressure Cooker Chicken Soup: Yummy & Good For You

It seems as though sinus infections, the stomach flu, bronchitis, and muscle aches are making the rounds in my large family and we don’t even live in the same house! I finally found both the energy and time to take out my favorite cooking equipment, my pressure cooker, to make some virus fighting fuel.  We have all heard that even canned chicken noodle soup can help fight a cold, but I was eager and ready to taste the rich flavorful type of chicken noodle soup I could make with my electric pressure cooker. At this point, I decided I would enhance the rich flavor by making the chicken stock base in my pressure cooker rather than using low sodium chicken broth.

Pressure Cooker Homemade Chicken Stock Ingredients

2 pounds of chicken wings
small onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 bay leaves
5 parsley sprigs
2 quarts water

Cook all ingredients on high pressure for 40 minutes. Use a natural release to continue extracting the flavors. Strain the stock. Cool the stock in order to skim the fat off.  If time is short and you need to use the chicken stock before it is completely cool, use a chilled lettuce leaf to help skim the fat off the stock. The chilled leaf will actually attract the fat in the broth to allow for removal.

On to the Chicken Soup….

• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound of skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper, to taste
• 6 cups of your homemade chicken stock recipe or 6 cups low sodium packaged chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup egg noodles (may substitute rice or orzo)

Saute the celery, onion, and carrots in the tablespoon of oil for a few minutes. Add the chicken breasts, thyme, salt, pepper, and stock or broth. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes; when done release the pressure quickly. Add in the chopped parsley and then cook the egg noodles or other pasta or rice in the hot soup.

In addition to being a “comfort” food, chicken soup will fight inflammation, thin your mucous, and hydrate you which will all hopefully fight whatever ails you!

Do you have a favorite chicken soup recipe? Please share with my readers.