Full Service Grab 'N' Go Canned Soup Part 3: Layered Chicken Veggie Soup

This Grab 'N' Go Canned soup, Layered Chicken and Veggie, was suggested to me by a reader and as much as I've searched, I cannot find the site that was suggested to me originally, I'd really like to give credit for this idea where credit is due... however, my feeble mind can't find it. I made it to take to work for lunch on those days I don't have leftovers, and don't want to order in.

That being said, this soup was so much fun to make and turned out so great...

Here's what I did...

First I cooked my chicken, seasoned well with salt, pepper, garlic, and some poultry seasoning. After the chicken cooked and cooled, I removed it from the bone and chopped it up. I let the broth cool overnight, then removed as much of the fat from the top as I could and set it aside to use in a later step. (I ended up using about half a 3 pound chicken, I used the other half of the meat in my chicken chili).

I peeled, sliced, and chopped the vegetables I chose to use... potatoes, onions, frozen corn, green beans, and carrots. (I used fresh veggies except the corn, which was frozen... I do not recommend using previously canned vegetables, they've already been cooked and will become way too soft during the pressure canning process)

Here are the approximate amounts of ingredients used:

2-3 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large onion, chopped

1 to 1-1/2 cups green beans, strings removed and broken in bite sized pieces

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn

1-1/2 lbs. chopped chicken

Hot chicken broth

After all my ingredients were assembled, I began filling my hot, sterilized wide mouth pint jars with layers of vegetables and chicken... I'm guessing at quantities here, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup of each veggie... more potatoes, less onion... use your own judgement here, it's a matter of taste... also if you prefer peas to green beans, feel free to substitute... I wouldn't use pasta or rice in this dish... they'd get WAY to mushy. There's also no rhyme or reason for the order the layers go in... I chose by color, light colors and white, followed by bright colors of carrot, green been, etc.

Once I had my chicken and vegetables layered in the jars, I filled the jars with hot chicken broth left over from cooking my chicken, I ran a butter knife between the inside of the jar and the food to remove air bubbles.

I wiped the rims of the jars and added the hot, sterilized lids and rings, tightening them on to fingertip tightness.

I place the jars into my pressure canner and processed them (use the instructions that come with your canner) at 10 pounds of pressure for 70 minutes for the pints (quarts would process for 90 minutes).

After processing, I allowed the pressure in my canner to drop on its own to ZERO before taking off the lid and removing the hot jars using my jar lifter. I set the jars on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool and seal. I LOVE the PING of each successfully sealed jar! Music!

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Canning Granny©2012 All Rights Reserved

Please feel free to check out the following websites and resources:

Service of a Pressure Canner

Other Services

Flagship Merchant Services

Food Services and Merchants