I follow a "when in doubt, leave it out" motto. Fresh parsley can easily be added when you reheat soup to serve it. I use herbs when I make my stock, but they are strained out before canning. It's leaving them in the jar that can result in stronger flavors. You can certainly grill your chicken first assuming you're going to cook it off the bone and de-fat your broth anyway, it will add flavor without affecting the recipe in any negative way. Deanna

I see no one has addressed your question, and it is an important one. The vegetables you use in your soup can't be raw, in the main because all the soup ingredients need to be hot when they are placed in the jars. The safe processing times are calibrated based upon boiling contents. However, you don't need to overcook them either. Boil everything 5 minutes before jarring up and that's sufficient. I think you may be surprised at how well the vegetables hold up. The texture of the chicken will probably be more of an issue. Also, if you think of it, with uncooked vegetables, especially chunks of potato, you risk some absorbtion of the liquid during processing. It wouldn't be fun to pull your jars out of the pressure canner and see they're only 2/3 full of a dense sludge-like mixture. So be sure the mixture has been boiled 5 minutes and then aim for 1/2 solid contents and 1/2 liquid for appropriate density. You should be able to eyeball a half-jar and still come reasonably close to equally distributed contents. If you have a leftover jar of plain or thin stock, that's not a bad thing because it can be used lots of ways. You do have another option, and that's to can plain chicken and broth in one batch and mixed vegetables in another batch. Combine one jar of each for soup. This gives you maximum versatility and you may find this brings you closer to the flavor and texture you prefer. Carol

Well, I'm definately going to save this thread, lots of good ideas here and I'll probably be roasting a chicken again. BF and I both don't do this very often as singles, (particularly mostly-vegetarian me) and we can't handle all the leftovers, but together . . . I had a lot of fun making a new chicken soup today! I invented a recipe and it is FANTASTIC. And the perfect soup for sping. I took all the ingredients of that ubiquitous restaurant spinach artichoke dip (sans tons of fat) and made it into a yummy soup. Here's how I did it if you want to do something similar. This is great for those on restricted diets. First, I boiled the chicken carcass in half water and half vegetable broth. Then, I put it in the fridge and waited until the fat congealed and then I skimmed that. Then I strained out the broth. Then, I picked all the little bits of meat off the bones and threw them in the pot. I could hear BF saying, "waste of time" but I was channeling my Bubbe, she of the hands continually bathed in chicken fat! There was a bit of bouquet garni seasoning already on the chicken. Then I added some small pieces of chicken, mostly white meat, that I had in the fridge. The rest was dead easy. I added a cup, maybe cup and a quarter of chopped, well-drained marinated artichoke hearts that I had languishing in the fridge, about the same amount of frozen chopped spinach, about 1 TBLSP chives (I can't have onions), 3/4 of a red pepper, chopped and sauteed in EVOO. About 1/2 tsp. oregano for seasoning. I didn't add garlic but I could have. I boiled this for 20 min. To "whiten" it I wasn't very systematic, I used up the bits and bobs of white stuff I had in the fridge--about 1 TBLSP of lite sour cream, about 1/3 cup of 1% milk, and about 1/3 cup of neufatchel cheese. You could use cream if you like, or real cream cheese. The sour cream wasn't necessary, I just had it to use up. Top with grated parmesean and serve with whole grain pita chips. DELICIOUS!

Here's one that really looks great! Chicken Mushroom Barley Soup Makes 4 quarts; serves 10-12 as a soup course, 8 as a meal This recipe is adapted from The Frog/Commissary Cookbook (Doubleday, 1985). Ingredients: 3 Tb. butter 1½ cups chopped onions 1 cup chopped carrots 1 cup chopped celery 2 tsp. minced garlic 1 lb. sliced mushrooms 3 quarts chicken broth 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp. nutmeg 1 cup pearl barley 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks 2 Tb. minced dill (optional) 2 Tb. chopped parsley (optional) Directions: In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, and sauté over medium-high heat until tender but not browned. Add the mushrooms and cook until just soft. Add the broth, seasonings, and barley. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer 2 hours or until barley is tender. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the chicken breast pieces, and cook just until chicken is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the optional dill and parsley, and serve. Tips: The soup can be made up to two days in advance, refrigerated, and reheated. If it becomes too thick, thin with additional broth Leftovers freeze beautifully, Thaw them in the microwave at 30% power, then heat on full power till hot.