Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

As I posted yesterday, I made chicken soup in my Crockpot. Truly an easy recipe. The best part- no risk of spillover on your stovetop. Can't say the same for the noodles I made to go with it, since I got distracted by a dirty diaper before I could reduce the heat.

One thing I recently learned is that the soup is more golden when made in a slow cooker, but the flavor has a wonderful depth. You don't need any bouillon to make this soup flavorful. In the past year, I have also added another ingredient to make my chicken soup tasty. Its the parsnip. Parsnips are a root vegetable that look like white carrots. I personally don't like the taste of them by themselves, but the sweetness they add to the soup can't be beat.

Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
2-3 lbs cut up fryer (whole chicken on the bone) (with or without neck)
1 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
4-6 carrots, peeled and cut up
1 large or 2 small parsnips peeled and cut up
1 medium onion, preferably sweet, cut into 4-6 segments
4-5 cups water

1. Place vegetables, salt and bay leaves on bottom of slow cooker. Place chicken on top. Add the water.
2. Cook on high 5 hours.
3. Soup is done, remove the chicken and bay leaves.
4. At this point, I strain the soup through cheesecloth (no, that's not cloth made of cheese) to get some of the fat out.
5. For a hearty soup, take chicken off the bone and add to soup. Otherwise, you can save the chicken for another dish like chicken salad or pot pie.
6. Fill your bowl up with the cooked carrots and/or parsnips, soup, and whatever additions you enjoy (chicken, cooked noodles made separately, matza balls, dumpling, etc.).