Comfort in the form of soup

My mom has made homemade chicken or turkey soup for as long as I can remember. It's always been one of my absolute favorite things. Every so often she'd cook a whole chicken or turkey as a weekend meal just so she could make soup. I still love my moms soup and always will, but now that I live on my own (well, with a roommate but let's not split hairs) I find myself doing the same thing.

For me it started with doctoring up store bought stock but I was never quite satisfied. It was too salty and required far more seasoning than I thought was necessary. The first time I tried to make soup from the chicken bones I didn't boil and simmer it long enough to get the flavors I wanted, but now that I've got that part figured it's been smooth sailing.

When I decided I making the roast chicken from the last post I had every intention of making soup from it. My soup comes out a little different from my mothers, I've just never been able to replicate it so I stopped trying and have found my own flavor.

I put the chicken bones, carrots, celery, onions, bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley, and thyme into a pot. Fill it with enough water to cover everything. And then set it on the stove to boil, after it boils for a bit, I turn the heat down and just simmer covered for an hour and uncovered for about 30 more minutes or until I get the taste I want.

I leave the vegetables in large chunks because I remove them with the bones after I'm finished simmering. They get too mushy if you leave them in; though sometimes the carrots are fine it all depends on how long it ends up simmering.

This time I left the carrots in because they weren't too mushy

Once the stock is done, I usually add in some fresh vegetables. What I put in varies, this time I just used onions, celery, and carrots. And then some rice. I also don't leave or put any actual chicken in the soup, I don't really care for that (which I definitely get from my mother; she doesn't put it in either).

I love soup in all forms, but a hot bowl of homemade chicken soup is almost definitely at the top of my list. Comfort food at it's best.

What's your favorite comfort food?