[West Ender]

When making soup from a chicken carcass, if there's a lot on meat left on the carcass I remove most of it first then I just break the carcass up, put it in a deep pan and cover it with water and add a stock cube (chicken oxo or Knorr). I like to add a couple of handfuls of pearl barley too. I boil it then simmer it for 2 or 3 hours, more if possible, then strain it to remove the bones. Next I cut up any meat I'd saved and add that, a chopped onion and chopped carrots, any vegetables I have to hand, salt and pepper and simmer again for about an hour. It's cheap and very nutritious.

A tip: I have an electric Slow Cooker which I use for this but before I had it I used to use a pan with a heavy bottom. Once I'd got it simmering I would stand the pan on a trivet (dead cheap at T J Hughes) and light a couple of tea-lights underneath it. Ideal for simmering and costs only pence compared to using your gas or electricity.