January 13, 2025

Nana Carmen's Chicken Soup

It's been a little over three years now since we lost my Nana, my grand mom Carmen.  She would have been 99 this February!! The woman was truly one of a kind, hilarious, genuine, and I am so grateful that I had such a close relationship with her growing up.  I have so many fond memories that we shared together, and from when we lived with my grandparents for I think a year while my parents were having their home built.

Mostly, I remember visiting with them a lot when I was growing up with my cousins.  We spent pretty much all of the different holidays with them at their home in Trenton, NJ, Summers were spent there as well and certain photos really stand out to me  from when my cousins and I were all young and just hanging with our grandparents. I truly wish we could turn back time. I'll always treasure those special memories I have.

When my Nana passed away at the age of 94, it hit me hard. I lost my mom almost seven years ago, and my Nana was her mother. While losing my own mother was painful and still hits hard in different waves today, every relationship is slightly different because the person is different.  When I lost my grand mom, I grieved pretty heavy. It was a huge blow for me because I just adored her. This incredible human being, who I hope to be like as I get older and hopefully live to 94 or more,  is now gone. Seeing her lose her only daughter first, a) of course was not fair and that's not how it supposed to be and b) it just broke my heart seeing her cry , holding her hand next to her as my mom took her last few breaths from the cancer that ultimately took her away from us at the young age of 67. 

So, to not keep the sappiness going, I'll end on a brighter and yummy note.  I have my grand mom's famous chicken soup to share with you today!

It's Winter. It's cold out. We should all be making some sort of soup, and this is truly the best chicken soup you'll ever try! Please let me know if you make this and what you think!  Anytime I cook any of my mom's recipes (which were all basically my Nana's recipes passed down, I instantly think of the both of them and smile).


Ingredients:

  • 1 Whole Chicken, washed
  • 2 32 oz. Cartons of chicken broth (low-sodium)
  • Fresh Italian Parsley to taste
  • Celery, carrots and medium onion cut into 1/2 inch pieces ( I usually just buy the mirepoix pre-chopped and packaged ready to go in the produce section-I buy two of them- easy peasy!)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Any pasta/noodle you prefer. Bow ties are great, mini shells or orzo

Directions:

1. Fill large stock pot with Water  and add salt. Place whole chicken in the pot and bring to a boil. Cook about 45 minutes to one hour until the chicken starts to fall apart. 

2. In another large pot, pour the chicken broth and equal amounts of water. Add in the parsley, mirepoix mix (celery, onions and carrots), salt and pepper. Boil until the veggies have softened.

3. When chicken is done, cool for a few minutes and then remove the skin and bones and shred the chicken. Add the shredded chicken back into the pot of broth and veggies. Add a little more water from the pot of the cooked chicken for extra flavor and simmer about 30 minutes.

*pro tip: cook your pasta separately and then add to the soup.  I like to freeze any leftover soup and noodles do not freeze well. 

*You can likely cook the whole chicken on high in a slow cooker with some broth and water for about 4-5 hours, however, I have not tried that yet. 

I hope you enjoy! 

Love and miss you, Nana xo


1 comment:

  1. So lovely and heartwarming. The relationship between a girl and her mom and her grandmom evolves over time but remains the most special of relationships. What better way to remember Nana than to make some of the special dishes she made for you. Just remember, they are both with you always.

    ReplyDelete

 
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