chicken
chicken soup
easy
healthy recipes
make-ahead
feed a crowd

Rach likes to use this recipe as the base for her rollover chicken meals: Chicken and Snap Pea Soup with Leeks and Mushroom, Asparagus and Chicken Sauté with Rice Pilaf.

"I love rollover cooking. If you cook something simple like a poached chicken, you can roll it into two meals," Rachael says. "These meals are perfect for springtime into early summer. Heads up: each can be prepared in short-order by using pulled rotisserie chicken and store-bought stock if you want to make the meals on their own and in a hurry any night of the week.

Ingredients

  • 1 leek, trimmed, washed and quartered
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 ribs celery with leafy tops, quartered
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • Parsley stems or sprigs and some reserved carrot tops
  • One 4- to 5-pound chicken
  • 5 to 6 black peppercorns
  • Kosher salt

Yield

Serves: 3½ to 4 quarts stock

Preparation

Place vegetables, garlic, lemon and herbs in a pot with the chicken. Add enough water to just cover the bird and bring to a boil. Add peppercorns and salt; reduce heat to a low rolling boil or gentle simmer. Poach chicken 60 minutes, turning occasionally. Cool completely in stock before removing chicken. Discard bones and skin, and pull chicken into bite-size pieces. Divide meat into two piles.  
 
Strain stock and pour back into pot; keep warm.