Showing posts with label Chicken Soup for the Soul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken Soup for the Soul. Show all posts

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Homemade Italian Chicken Bow Tie Soup for a Large Family

This soup recipe is basically an assembling of flavors that I know my family likes.

I frequently purchase ready-made roast chicken from Costco and other grocery stores. Our family is large, so I usually buy three chickens.

When we're done with the chickens, I use the carcasses to make chicken soup broth. You can use any chicken broth. However, I've prepared enough food for two days by purchasing or making three roast chickens and then making soup.

A Bowl of Italian Chicken Bow Tie Soup

Italian Chicken Bow Tie Soup Ingredients for a Large Family

  • Chicken Broth (from leftover cooked chickens, or you can use 7 boxes of store-bought chicken broth)
  • Chicken pieces cut up from the above-cooked chickens, or use 3 separate chicken breasts, and oven bake them (don't let them brown), then cut up into small biteable pieces
  • Hot Water
  • 6 Bouillon Chicken Cubes
  • An Entire Medium Sized Bag of Carrots
  • Full stock of Celery
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 7 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 Green Pepper
  • 4 Tablespoons of Butter
  • 500 grams of Pasta Bow Ties (about a box and a half, with a box holding 340grams)
  • 5 Bay Leaves
  • 3 Teaspoons of Oregano (or whatever amount you prefer)
  • 3 Teaspoons of Basil (or whatever amount you prefer)
  • 5 Teaspoons of Parsley (or whatever amount you prefer)
Step One - Get the Broth Ready

In a large pot, prepare the following: (I use about a 14-quart soup pot - seen below). I fill the pot to about 3/4 with homemade soup for our big family.

This big soup pot feeds our large family - I fill it 3/4 full with homemade soup
  • Boil the leftover whole chickens, then screen the meat out through a strainer. Put the meat aside so you can pull off all usable bites to go back in the soup. I let the chicken meat cool, then put it in the soup near the end.
  • If using the chicken carcasses to make the broth, I boil it for several hours.
  • If you're using store-bought chicken broth, put 7 boxes of broth in the pot - you could even use more!
  • Add 6 bouillon chicken cubes
Step Two - The Carrots

I add the carrots next because they take longer to cook. I use a whole bag of medium carrots. Scrape them, cut them into biteable pieces, and then add them to the soup broth.

Step Three - Lightly Fry These Ingredients

In a frying pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter, then lightly fry:
  • An entire stock of celery, chopped into biteable pieces
  • A large green pepper, cut into biteable pieces
  • A whole large onion, chopped into fine, ground pieces (I use a mini-chopper)
  • 7 whole garlic cloves chopped fine (I put them into the mini-chopper as well)
I usually fry them on medium heat for about ten minutes, constantly stirring. Put the entire mixture into the soup broth. 

Step Four - The Pasta Bow Ties
  • Boil the pasta bow ties separately until nearly fully cooked
  • Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water
  • Put the pasta in the soup broth
I always cook the pasta separately, then rinse them to reduce the amount of starch in the soup.

Step Five - Add the Chicken
  • Use the chicken from the carcass that you set aside or the chicken you made in the oven. If you're using oven-baked chicken, don't let it brown - you want the color of the soup to be light.
  • Be sure to cut the chicken into small biteable pieces
  • If you're using chicken from the carcass, double-check that there are no bones! I catch bones while pulling the meat away from the carcasses and when I cut it into small pieces. The bones reveal themselves when cutting. Take your time, and be extra careful.
Step Six - The Flavoring

I never measure this part; I simply add the amount I think makes the soup taste right for my family. The measurements below are merely for your own guidance.
  • Add 3 teaspoons of Oregano (or whatever amount you want)
  • Add 3 teaspoons of Basil (or whatever amount you want)
  • Add 4 teaspoons of  Parsley (or whatever amount you want)
  • Add 5 Bay Leaves for flavor (don't eat them)
  • Salt to taste (optional - I don't salt, I allow each person to salt their own bowls)
Step Seven - Add The Boiling Water

At this point, I boil water using my tea kettle and pour the boiling hot water into the soup pot until it reaches about three-quarters full from the top of the pot.

Leave it on the stove on low heat, and let everyone eat soup all day long!

Homemade Italian Chicken Bow Tie Soup for a Large Family






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Monday, June 5, 2017

Recommended Summer Reading for Dog Lovers

My summer vacation is fast approaching and I am happily preparing for it by gathering several books perfect for easy, summer reading. My plan is to spend much of my vacation relaxing, lost in books. As a person who loves dogs, I am choosing one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books that focuses on dogs. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series are reliably comforting books with uplifting stories. In this review, I will share some of those titles focused on dogs. 


Not Familiar with the Chicken Soup for the Soul Books?


Chicken Soup for the Soul books have been around since the 1990's. The founders created the series with the thought that people can help people via the sharing of their personal stories. Since that time, they have published hundreds of books, selling millions of copies. Each book is focused on a different theme. And each book is a compilation of stories from every day people who have a story to share within that theme.


Why Read Stories About Dogs?



Dogs are our companions. Our guardians. Our best friends and our babies. I have recently been fortunate enough to witness some people doing really good things for dogs. 

I have watched people organizing huge events to do fund-raising for the organizations that care for dogs. And I have watched individuals repeatedly foster individual dogs until permanent homes are found. Whether it is in huge numbers, or only one person and one dog at a time, I have been witness to the love we have for our dogs.

At this time in my life, and during this time in the world, I want to spend my vacation immersed in stories that are loving and uplifting. Stories that take me away to happy places. Chicken Soup for the Soul stories sometimes include stories of grief and loss. But that grief and loss has meaning. Not the display of trauma and loss for ratings and site visits rather an exploration of the meaning of love and loss. I have not yet chosen the dog stories book I will be reading during my vacation, but I am familiar with this series of books and know that I can depend on what types of stories I will find in the newest copy being added to my library.



Related Links about Dogs from Review This! Contributors


The writers at Review This! love their dogs. In fact, several of us have dogs named Daisy. Below are links to some of the dog-related articles we have written.

My Daisy is a small dog with a short coat. She is a rat terrier. And while she loves being outdoors during all season, I provide a coat or sweater for her during the coldest months so that she can remain warm during our winter outdoor adventures. You can meet my Daisy in my article about Sweater & Jacket Choices for Dogs Who Need Them.

Susan shares her pick of Patriotic Dog Bandanas, Collars, and Clothes.  With patriotic and summer holidays upon us, check out this fun ideas for your holiday dog. Whether your dog is a fast and furious, frisbee-fetching machine, or a dainty little girl-dog in a dress, you will find something in her article for your dog. The adorable photos alone are worth a click. A very important note: Susan shares that July 5th is the day of the highest number of admissions of dogs to animal shelters. And she reminds us to take extra caution with our dogs during fireworks season.

Puppies. Who doesn't love a puppy?  But wow, potty-training a puppy can be so frustrating. And potentially damaging to your home as well as your sanity. Beverly has found a solution. She reviews the Puppy Potty Trainer - the system her family members chose to use for their new four-legged addition to their family. Beverly shared something I hadn't considered previously: when traveling or visiting with a new puppy during the potty-training stage, a portable and familiar potty system that can be taken into unfamiliar settings can aide in the potty training. Such a wonderful idea (and probably very welcomed by the home owners the puppy is visiting!).

Wednesday Elf wrote a wonderful Review of Greeting Cards for Pet Lovers. While she reviews a variety of sources of unique greeting cards for both dog and cat lovers, I was drawn to the adorable greeting cards she highlighted from the AfricanGrey store. That artist clearly loves Boston Terriers, but also offers a variety of dog breeds on these greeting cards. While browsing the site I saw cards for many different occasions. Including adorable Wedding Boxers, 

And last but absolutely not least - 

Dog lovers know that the best thing about a dog is loving a dog and the worst thing about loving a dog is when that dog passes. Our dogs are such intregal part of our lives that the void they leave when they are gone is enormous. Barbara shares with us both a loving memorial of her little "Girl Dog" and a wonderful wall decal. Every Time I Lose a Dog is a loving tribute to the dogs we've loved and lost. 







Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


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