Caldo de Pollo

What you need:

whole shredded chicken

2 cans chicken stock

water

Salt

2-3 tablespoons Chicken Boullion/base

1/2 onion

2-3 Serrano Peppers (cut stems off)

1 Bag of Carrots (or as many as you would like)

2 whole Zuchinnies (peeled and chopped into circles)

1/2 Medium Cabbage (chopped)

3-4 Russet Potatoes (cut into large quarters)

Cilantro (diced)

In a large stew pot boil whole chicken. Add salt and a few bay leaves. Boil for about 2-2 and a half hours. If I have time I prepare the chicken a day ahead and store the whole pot in the refrigerator with the cooked chicken and water inside. This makes a great chicken stock base for the soup. After chicken is cooked remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Once cooled shred the chicken and set aside.

Pour the chicken stock from the large pot into a large bowl using a strainer to get rid of the drippings from boiling the chicken. Pour chicken stock back into pot and add the two cans of chicken stock and two cans of water. Add chicken boullion. Turn heat to medium high. Take the half onion and the serrano peppers and blend them together in a blender. Add a little of the chicken stock to the mixture for an easier blend. Add to the chicken stock. Add carrots and cut up potatoes. Let boil for about 10 minutes then add shredded chicken. Boil for about 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are almost cooked.

Add zuchinnies and let cook for about 5 minutes. Finally add cilantro and cabbage. Let boil on medium high heat for about 5-10 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve. I also add limes, rice, and green salsa to this soup to make it spicy because it is more of a mexican type of chicken soup. The green salsa is the tomatillo salsa in this blog.