How to eat an entire chicken, day 2: Stock and soup

You remember Alexander, who went to sleep with gum in his mouth and now there's gum in his hair and when he got out of bed this morning he tripped on the skateboard and by mistake he dropped his sweater in the sink while the water was running? Well, I've been having a day just like that today. I even locked my keys in my office on my way out of work. Fortunately, today's recipe was already mostly done, and pretty easy to throw together.

I've been working on a chicken this week: rosemary chicken, chicken pot pie and chicken soup. Although I made them in that order--I roasted the chicken on Monday, made the pot pie on Tuesday and made the soup tonight--I'm going to tell you about the soup first, because you start making the stock the night you roast the chicken.

I just Googled chicken stock, to see what makes it different from broth. Apparently stock is made with the bony parts, and broth is made from the meat. This means the stock has a richer flavor. You could buy either for a soup, but if you're roasting a chicken it's really wasteful not to make your own. The first time I did this, I froze my stock as ice cubes. They live in a freezer bag, and I pull out a couple every time I want chicken stock. It's super convenient, and the stock is almost free to make. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't think it would be too attractive, but it makes your house smell incredible.

Chicken stock
After you've roasted your chicken, carve or pull all the meat off the bones, and save it for later. You're going to want as much of that meat as possible, and it isn't doing you any more favors by going in the stock, so get in there! Put the carcass, bones, innards (from the paper bag inside the carcass when you started) and skin in a pot or Crockpot. Add enough water to cover everything.

Add a whole carrot (peeled with the ends chopped off) and some celery. I like to use the leafy parts that otherwise get thrown out. Peel an onion and cut it in half, and toss that in too. Add a bay leaf and some herbs--maybe some sprigs of rosemary or thyme if you're feeling inspired.

Cook it on low for several hours--all day/night if possible. When it's ready and smells amazing, strain it and discard the vegetables and bones. Especially if you're going to freeze it, pour the stock into the narrowest container you can find and refrigerate it for several hours. The fat will rise to the top and you can skim it off (kind of satisfyingly gross). Freeze it in small portions, refrigerate it to use in all your recipes or make it into soup!

Chicken and rice soup
This is a totally variable recipe, so put in whatever you like in your chicken soup. Some people prefer noodles or potatoes to rice. You can also make it come together much faster if you precook the rice and the vegetables. In that case, just cook it on low for about half an hour or until you get hungry.

Chop 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks and any other veggies (onions, turnips?). Cut your leftover chicken into bite-sized pieces. (I had already made my pot pie by this point, so I had about a cup and a half of chicken.) Put the veggies and meat in a pot with your unbelievably delicious chicken stock, and pour in 1 cup rice. Feel free to toss in more herbs or some pepper; I felt my stock was plenty flavorful, but everyone has different tastes.

Cook on low for several hours, until the veggies are soft and the rice is cooked. I'm doing mine overnight so I can take it to work tomorrow in my Snow White thermos! It matches my Snow White lunchbox, circa 1995.