Recipes in this article: Basic broth Variations Ask Pamela Anderson a food question! Also this week: Quick, Full-Flavored, From-Scratch Chicken Broth

Soup up your chicken soup

It's from scratch -- and fast! With my easy formula, you can make a fresh soup du jour even on a busy weeknight.

I've got two bones to pick with homemade chicken soup: time and taste. For years I made chicken soup the standard way -- by boiling a chicken with celery, carrots, onions and herbs for a few hours. After straining the broth, separating the meat, and discarding the spent vegetables and bones, I'd start the process all over again, chopping more carrots, celery and onion for the soup itself.

Not only was that method redundant and time-consuming (did I really need two sets of vegetables?), but the resulting soup tasted like a cold remedy. To compensate, I'd add a can of tomatoes, extra vegetables, another spice or two and a few shakes of hot pepper sauce. Before I knew it, I had turned my chicken soup into vegetable soup.

Luckily, I've discovered how to knock hours off the cooking time and still end up with soup that tastes even better than from-scratch. Just start with a rotisserie chicken and chicken broth from the can or carton.

I also have developed a basic formula (see chart below), so whether I feel like a simple chicken noodle soup, a more elaborate curried chicken-vegetable soup or an Italian-inspired chicken tortellini soup, the directions, proportions and method are the same. Actually, because the basic chicken soup base makes almost 4 quarts, you can prepare two different soups, if you'd like. Just use half of the soup base and half of the suggested ingredients in the chart, then proceed as directed. Let the remaining soup base cool before covering and refrigerating up to three days. Then try another "soup du jour," using half the ingredients called for.

These soups are warm and comforting enough to heal the sick, but they are really intended for the work-weary cook who needs to prepare a soul-satisfying meal in a bowl -- quickly.

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1st, make a basic broth
Fast Chicken Soup Base
2 quarts chicken broth, plus 1 quart water
1 store-bought roast chicken
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 large onions (2 cups), cut into medium dice
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds or half rounds, depending on size
2 large celery stalks, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves

Bring broth and water to a simmer over medium-high heat in a large soup kettle. Meanwhile, separate chicken meat from skin and bones; reserve meat. Add skin and bones to the simmering broth. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer until bones release their flavor, 20 to 30 minutes.

Strain broth through a colander into a large container; reserve broth and discard skin and bones. Return kettle to burner set on medium-high.

Add oil, then onions, carrots and celery. Sauté until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken, broth and thyme. Bring to a simmer.

(Can be refrigerated up to 3 days in advance. Return to a simmer before adding the extras of your choice.)

Makes 3 1/2 to 4 quarts.
Serves 8.

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2nd, add your extras

Contributing Editor Pam Anderson is the author of "CookSmart" (Houghton Mifflin, $28).