[TheMom]

In the winter I make vegatable and potato soup. I have tried chicken soup, but can never get it just right. Although my chicken ~n~ dumplins rocks!

[Grammy]

The trick to chicken soup is to start with browned chicken. If you are working with fresh chicken, cut it into pieces and brown them in a small bit of oil until they have a nice dark color. If you can chop a couple of the big bones in half, that contributes to the flavor as well. You can also save leftover chicken carcases (from baked chicken) and use those. I pop them in the freezer until I have enough for soup. Or, you can save raw backs and bones and necks and skin in the freezer until you have a bunch, then brown them in the oven at about 400 until they are well browned. You can add the veggies from the recipe and brown those as well to increase the depth of the flavors. Once you have the base for flavor proceed as below.

Chicken Soup

Take browned chicken and cover with water. If you are using a whole chicken in pieces, poach the breasts gently then remove, or set aside to cook at the end.
1 large carrot
1 large onion stuck with 3 cloves
1 stalk of celery
a garlic clove or 2
half a dozen peppercorns
a bay leaf
fresh or dried parsley
fresh or dried thyme

Simmer all of the above for several hours, then strain. I use my pasta pot with the liner, that way all I have to do is lift out the liner to strain the broth.
Toss the contents of the strainer. Taste the broth to see if it is as flavorful as you want it to be. If not, continue to boil to reduce it a bit more.

Take the reserved chicken breast and cut into bite size pieces. If you haven't already cooked them, add to broth and poach. Chop carrots, onion, and celery. Saute briefly and add to the broth. Add a handful of rice or noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the rice or noodles are tender.