Chicken Stelline Soup

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

This recipe stemmed from the fact that I'm sick, again. This is the third cold I have had in two months! I blame this indecisive weather of ours in the Northern VA area. In any event, I decided to make some soup and thought I'd take a chance with my own concoction. It turned out really well I thought! I made just enough for me to have today and tomorrow, but you could easily increase the recipe to make more. It would be great as leftovers. Spring is coming, get your comfort food in before it gets too warm! (NOTE: You could also use cut up chicken tenders to cook in the soup. I chose to roast the split chicken breast.)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
• 1 packet Flavor Boost chicken stock packet
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 split chicken breast, skin-on and bone-in
• 1/4 stelline pasta (or pasta of your choice)
• dash of garlic powder with parsley
• A small handful fresh dill, chopped
• dash of Italian seasoning
• olive oil, for chicken breast
• juice of half a lemon

Directions:
Rub the split chicken breast with olive oil and season with Italian seasoning (or seasoning of your choice), salt, and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Remove skin and cut up chicken into chunks once cooled. Set aside. Add olive oil to dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, and celery. Season with salt and pepper and throw in the bay leaf. Stir a couple of minutes until a little softened, making sure not to burn. Add the chicken broth, water, and Flavor Boost packet. Stir and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 5 minutes. Throw in the chopped chicken, lemon juice, garlic powder and dill. Stir for a couple more minutes and serve.

Nana's Chicken Pastina Soup

Courtesy of Cooking Light

OK, this is not "my Nana's" soup - this is just the name out of Cooking Light and I felt guilty changing it. Don't get me wrong though - my family makes some amazing food, including great soups! However, I had been wanting to try something new and had the motivation to try a new soup tonight. I gotta say - I was impressed with this soup. It is super easy to make, and the flavor is really delicious. My goal is to have it for lunch a day or so and then freeze the rest. Check it out! Oh, and there are a few pictures just because I couldn't resist the cute pasta:

and fresh pesto that was SO yummy:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 1/4 cups pre-chopped celery, onion, and carrot mix
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound cooked chicken breast (cut into 1-inch cubes or shredded)
• 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) uncooked pastina (I used Stellina)
• 3 tablespoons commercial pesto (Whole Foods has delicious fresh pesto)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Note: I boiled the chicken. Bring water and broth to a boil in a large saucepan/Dutch oven. Stir in celery mix, pepper, salt, and chicken; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook 4 minutes. Be sure to stir immediately so the pasta does not stick to the bottom. Stir in pesto and juice, and simmer 1 minute. Sprinkle with cheese. I preserved the cheese for each serving, personally.

Avgolemono Soup with Chicken and Orzo

Do you ever eat something at a restaurant and wish you could make it home? Well, I had this soup over 5 years ago at McLean Family Restaurant which I still think about. All I remembered was that it was Greek inspired and had orzo and lemon flavors. I was never able to find a recipe that seemed similar enough, until this month (no, I have not been searching constantly for years)! I came across this and it made my day. I took a chance at it last night and it came out pretty tasty...it's the soup I remember from years ago. This soup was also great for lunch today, thicker, but still delicious. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup uncooked orzo
• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 8 ounces cooked chicken breast, shredded into bite-sized pieces

1. Bring broth and dill to a boil in large saucepan and add orzo.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and remove one cup of broth from the pot (without any orzo in it.)  Let it cool for 5 minutes.

2. Put eggs and juice in blender and process until smooth and frothy.  With blender on, slowly pour the one cup of cooled broth that you removed from the pot into the blender and process until smooth.  This is to thin out the eggs a little more so they will blend in to the soup obediently later on.

3. Add carrot, salt, pepper and chicken to the broth and orzo in the pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until orzo is tender.  Reduce heat to low.

4. Slowly pour in egg mixture, stirring constantly, until soup is heated through, about 1-2 minutes.  Do not let it boil or you may get the dreaded curdling.  If you do, remind yourself that it is still going to taste just fine.  

5. Ladle into bowls and serve at once.

The Perfect Winter Soup

So for anyone that knows Nick, knows he likes to cook new things and loves incorporating sausage whenever possible! He came across this recipe for Italian Sausage Soup (courtesy of allrecipes.com). I must say, it turned out extremely tasty (not that I am surprised). It tasted even better the next day! This works best with a dutch oven if you have one. I was nice and let him use mine...after all, he was sharing his delicious soup with me.

Italian Sausage Soup:

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
• 2 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.