- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 c. sliced carrots
- 1/2 c. diced celery
- 1/2 c. diced onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 4-6 c. chicken stock (enough to fully cover the other ingredients in the slow cooker)
- 1-2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- Add-ins (see note)
Combine all of the ingredients except the add-ins in a large slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Stir gently at the end of cooking to shred the cooked chicken. Add your desired add-ins to serving bowls and ladle the hot chicken soup base over the top. Stir gently and serve hot.
*Note: This base is incredibly versatile. Cook egg noodles and add them and you've got chicken noodle soup. Add cooked wild rice and some cream and you've got creamy chicken wild rice soup. Add some white beans and spinach and there's a twist on florentine. The options are really endless. Having some of this base on hand also makes it easy to turn leftovers into soup easily. One of my favorite quick transformations involves tossing leftover fried rice into some of the hot base and swirling some whisked egg around until it's cooked. It's like a hearty egg drop soup!
- Yields: 8 cups of soup base
- Preparation Time: 6-8 hours