Not your ordinary chicken soup

My niece is getting married and I'm stitching my pattern "First Step" for the invitations, which takes a fair amount of my stitching/blogging/design time, so I thought I'd share a recent kitchen success instead.

This savory dish isn’t your ordinary chicken soup. It’s a great way to use a chicken carcass. It takes time (chill overnight), but trust me, it’s worth it.

1 whole chicken with giblets
2 cups water

Roast chicken as desired, retaining carcass. Place giblets in water and simmer until water has reduced by one-third. Reserve and refrigerate giblet broth. Discard giblets unless you have something better to do with them. They are no longer needed.

After most of the meat has been removed, simmer carcass in 4 to 6 cups water for at least one hour. Remove carcass. Pull remaining meat from bones and add into the broth. Add giblet broth. Discard carcass.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices pepper bacon

For a milder pepper taste, rinse bacon. Cut bacon into small pieces then fry until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Pour off all but 2 TBSP bacon grease then sauté onions and garlic in bacon grease until tender. Add to soup. Add bacon bits to soup.

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces.
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained

Add potatoes and beans to soup.

1/8th to 1/4th tsp cayenne to taste
1 tsp salt to taste

Simmer soup, uncovered, over low heat for at least 2 hours. Transfer soup to refrigerator and chill overnight.

At least one-half hour before serving, bring soup to a slow boil and simmer until hot. Serve with pepper sauce if desired.

Great with grilled cheese sandwiches or corn bread.