Patch Recipes: Homemade Chicken Soup

I grew up in South Florida and spent the past 10 years in Southern California. Although I attended Ithaca College for four cold years, my body definitely is not used to low temperatures. This week's snowfall was a reminder that winter is coming soon, and in addition to warm clothes, I need hot food to counter the cold temperatures.

When it comes to hot food, there is nothing better than a good bowl of soup. And when it's homemade, that just adds to the goodness. Here is a recipe for chicken soup from Ashley Peskoe, contributor to the Patch site in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cooked rotisserie chicken from the store
• 2- 32 oz containers of chicken broth
• Celery*
• Carrots*
• Onion*
• 2 cups water (use more or less, depending on the consistency you like your soup)
• Garlic Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Egg Noodles or Rice
• Parmesan Cheese (optional)

*Where I shop, I get two packages of the already diced mixture of celery, carrots and onion, which comes out to about a cup each diced. Use as little or as much vegetables as you prefer in your soup

Directions:

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot on high heat. Add the full rotisserie chicken. Let chicken boil for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until it is falling off the bone.

Remove chicken from broth and separate the meat and bones. I like to have two bowls in my sink, one for bones and one for useable meat. Next, strain the broth (saving the broth) to get out any chicken and bones that may have fallen into the liquid.

Put the broth back on the stove and add the useable chicken meat. Add in the celery, carrots, onion and water. Add a few shakes each of your favorite spices (I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary and parsley). Bring to a boil and let cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Serve over egg noodles or rice. Sometimes I like to sprinkle Parmesan cheese to add some flavor.