Hi,
Here's a chicken soup recipe - leave out the veggies that your boyfriend really doesn't like and will "find" anyways! lol Too funny, I do the same thing with my husband, and he's actually started to like a LOT of veggies that he never would eat before - though there are still some that he'd find even if I chopped them so thin I'd have trouble finding them!
Chicken Soup - Freezes better in containers, rather than bags for me. This recipe is kind of a mix of ballpark measurements as I use two big pots and a crock pot when I do this.....and you'll find things you like to add more or less of as well.
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Cooked chicken, I use white meat (because I buy whole chicken breats and that's what there is), but you can use whatever, dark or white or a mix of both - this also applies to Turkey Soup - basically the same recipe.
HUGE pot, or better still, two of them!
I use chicken broth, canned, instead of chicken stock, as my son does - he's a really good cook too. For one pot:
10-12 cans of chicken broth - with chicken bouillion cubes or powder to taste, you'll be adding this all through cooking it. I also use a chicken broth powder that's made with soy and has no chicken in it at all, but tastes great.
Cut up chicken, this is better if you do it as you know how much your family likes, and I tend to put in a lot, about 3 cups or more.
2 cups of diced celery.
1 cup of diced green bell pepper, and one half a cup of red bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of yellow bell pepper (yellow's optional). I like lots of color in food for no good reason!
2 cups sliced carrots.
1/2 cup green beans - you can use canned, they freeze well.
1/4 cup of chopped garlic.
1/4 - 1/2 cup parsley (this is for the dry, it's not in season here for the fresh)
1/4 cup of Vidalia onion - this is one I hide and get away with, only because the onion is sweet!
A couple more optional veggies are sliced (into small triangles) summer and zucchini squash. Corn is also an optional veggie and you can use the canned; I tend to use it if we've had it and I have some leftover, then I throw it in w/the rest of the veggies.
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning.
1 teaspoon oregano leaves.
1 Tablespoon of black pepper
1 Tablespoon of Salt - I use Celtic salt as it's got over 80 minerals in it. It's a grey salt, not bleached, though if I was to use white salt, I'd use less than a tablespoon.
And any other veggie that you can think of that you all like
Take 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and saute' the veggies in the bottom of your pot in it. Add your chicken, spices and herbs and broth and simmer till done to your taste - add water if it's too spicy/salty/whatevery, lol. The slower you cook it and you can use a crockpot, after you saute' the veggies, the more flavor you'll get.
For noodles and such, I either use the Yolk Free soup noodles that come in various sizes as they seem to stay firmer and freeze better or instead of rice, I use Orzo pasta. Looks like rice, but keeps its texture and shape. Freezes good too. Or you can also use Wild Rice as it tends to stay together also - my hubby doesn't like it though! lol I "KNOW" where you're coming from - so this is a very basic recipe, add only what you like - leave out what you don't, everyone adds different things as everyones tastes are different.
Freeze when cooled completely.
Variations:
Substitute turkey for the chicken for turkey soup.
Substitute leftover roast beef for the chicken and if you want a thick stew, use beef broth and before you heat the broth, add some cornstarch to a cup of water - it's a natural thickener, start with a tablespoon to one cup of water and stir in with the broth - but keep your heat off - you'll see how thick it'll get - too thick, add more water or broth, too thin, add more cornstarch, but make sure it's stirred in completely.
Vegetable soup - leave out the meat! And you can use vegetable broth or bouillion.
*Always add more of the veggies that your family likes the most and cut down on any they'll just tolerate! (that way you can still get some into them)
Hope this helps
Kat
PS - Another good thing that I "always" make and freeze is spagetti sauce and marinara. Those I freeze in bags and they come out great. More recipes to come............do you like sweets? <grin> Cookies and things?