The stock will probably need some salt. Too much carrots tend to make the soup taste sweet, which you may not like. I tend to use a lot of garlic in my chicken soup, but that is definitely up to personal taste! XD
For a soup you can just chop it up and toss it in. Sauteing the garlic (and the onion for that matter) is a tasty, but unnecessary, variation for chicken soup :)
Basic chicken soup should have onion in it as well, and possibly celery if you like. Garlic is also a pretty common ingredient in most recipes.
Seasonings are usually very basic. Salt. Black Pepper. Oregano. Basil.
I typically add a bag of frozen mixed veggies to mine (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) which gives it a nice variety beyond the "Chicken and onions in broth" of a basic soup. I also go very heavy on the black pepper, which gives it a really nice little kick (and is especially nice if using it as a cold remedy).
I start all my soups with mire poix (sp?) - sauteed carrots, celery, onion, and usually garlic. Sometimes will include sage and thyme in the soup. But if you're making homemade stock, you'll definitely need salt. And chicken soup is always better with copious amounts of ground black pepper.
Personally, I'd recommend leaving out the salt during the cooking process. Add it to taste when you go to eat it. If you accidentally oversalt earlier, you can 't undo it. :)
As for spices? I always like onion (about 1 medium per 4-6 quarts of stock/broth) and a little bit of thyme. I'd start easy (maybe 1 tsp. dried thyme powder or 1 sprig if you buy fresh) and adjust up or down depending on how it tastes to you.
But yes. KISS is a great policy if you're learning how to make something for the first time. And always go for underseasoning than over!
(ETA): Also, IMO, 'baby carrots' (as they're generally marked in the supermarkets) are actually not baby carrots, but shaped carrot products of a mature root. I find them rather tough/hard even after being cooked, so make sure to get them in the soup as early as possible.
Oooh! I knew baby carrots were just shaved down from bigger ones (for some reason the idea of them doing that always amuses me), but I didn't realize they'd be tougher. Going to toss them in the bottom of the crock under the chicken, so they'll be in there eight hours or so.
I bought an onion this morning! Going to saute it and some garlic a while, then toss it in as well.
I'll wait on the salt to taste it first, that's a good idea!
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Do you need to brown the garlic? Or can I just chop some and toss it in?
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Seasonings are usually very basic. Salt. Black Pepper. Oregano. Basil.
I typically add a bag of frozen mixed veggies to mine (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) which gives it a nice variety beyond the "Chicken and onions in broth" of a basic soup. I also go very heavy on the black pepper, which gives it a really nice little kick (and is especially nice if using it as a cold remedy).
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As for spices? I always like onion (about 1 medium per 4-6 quarts of stock/broth) and a little bit of thyme. I'd start easy (maybe 1 tsp. dried thyme powder or 1 sprig if you buy fresh) and adjust up or down depending on how it tastes to you.
But yes. KISS is a great policy if you're learning how to make something for the first time. And always go for underseasoning than over!
(ETA): Also, IMO, 'baby carrots' (as they're generally marked in the supermarkets) are actually not baby carrots, but shaped carrot products of a mature root. I find them rather tough/hard even after being cooked, so make sure to get them in the soup as early as possible.
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I bought an onion this morning! Going to saute it and some garlic a while, then toss it in as well.
I'll wait on the salt to taste it first, that's a good idea!
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