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Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Gardener's Fast Food - Chicken Corn Soup


I've canned beef vegetable and chicken corn soup the last couple years and have so enjoyed the convenience! When the family is sick, there is nothing like pulling out a jar of homemade chicken soup. It also makes a perfect quick lunch on a busy day. Canned soup does seem like a lot of work when you are in the middle of cutting up all those vegetables. I try to remember that I'm preparing over twenty meals and the work will repay me richly this winter! For my life, with all the interruptions from little people, it works best to spread it out over several days. Chop and cook your vegetables and store in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to assemble and can the soup. These soups are thick and not very "soupy". When serving, I like to add at least a quart of broth. I usually throw in a hand full of noodles in the boiling broth before adding the soup. You do need to pressure can soup.

Chicken Corn Soup

5 qt cooked chicken, chopped
2 qt celery, chopped
2 qt carrots, chopped
2 qt potatoes, diced
2 1/2 qt whole corn
2 large onions, chopped
6 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 T parsley
2 tsp thyme
4 qt broth

Cook each vegetable separately until nearly done. Add broth, chicken and seasonings to vegetables. Stir well. Place in jars and can 50 minutes at 11 lb pressure.

Note: Turkey can be substituted for chicken. In fact, I bought several turkeys back at the Thanksgiving sale and still have one left. Even when not on sale, a large turkey is often cheaper and produces more meat then several chickens.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Gina. I'm looking at canning some soups for my husband to take to work for lunch and for convenience. I have a steam canner and this will be my first season canning. Any advice for this soup? I like your tip on prepping the veggies the day before.

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  2. Sarah -
    Good for you for giving canning a try! By next year, you'll be a pro!

    A steam canner should work well for fruits, tomatoes, pickles and jellies. But for vegetables and meats (and soups) you'll need a pressure canner to safely can.

    You could also freeze soup.

    Feel free to ask any other questions!
    Gina

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  3. Thanks Gina. A pressure canner sounds scarey but I'm sure I can do it as I'm determined to learn :) I'll link back my results when I do.

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  4. How many quarts it makes can vary depending on whether you measure on the generous side - or to the shy side! But you should get 15 quart or so.

    Better get out your biggest dish pan to mix in - or two!
    Gina

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  5. Thank you Gina for answering my questions I had about this recipe. I've got the second and last batch in the canner now. I got 14 quarts from this recipe. Man it does look yummy in the jars to! I used some corn that I had canned in some pints in it because we didn't like the recipe. It was some kind of corn relish and it had bell peppers and onions in it. SO I have been using it in making soups so I decided to use some of it in this recipe to. This soup is really good!

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  6. how would i do this in a water pressure bath instead?

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    Replies
    1. Because this recipe contains vegetables and meat - it is NOT safe to water bath can and must be pressure canned for safety.
      Gina

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  7. Could you not raw/cold pack all the ingredients into the jar and then pressure can for 90 minutes@10 lbs as you would a jar of plain meat? It would eliminate the dirty pots entirely and you wouldn't have to even cut the meat if it was boneless already (pressure canned meat just shreds as you'd expect soup meat to do). Just layer the jars as you cut the ingredients, top with water or broth (as the raw meat makes its own broth when you pressure can).

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    Replies
    1. Love this idea! I don't know why it wouldn't work.
      Gina

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    2. Just curious if Tasha's idea worked since I'm all about less mess and simplicity! My motto "work smarter not harder" thanks

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  8. Hello, Gina! Really appreciate you sharing your time and talents. I’m a new canner and looking forward to making this soup. I love that you are of Mennonite heritage! So close to my heart. I’m looking forward to more ideas. God bless, Christie

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