My daughter woke up with a stomach ache so I decided to make her a pot of homemade chicken and orzo soup for lunch. The soup needed to be nutritious, delicious and mellow on the tummy. I had left over chicken from the Roasted Lemon and Basil Chicken I made the other night; I also had some homemade chicken stock (made from the same chicken). I used orzo for the noodles because it's one of my daughters favorites. The broth was delicious, the pasta soft and creamy and the fresh basil topped it off perfectly. This was a nice soup, for a sick child (and the rest of us), on a cloudy day.
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced finely
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped (chiffonnade)
- 6 cups of homemade chicken stock (store bought is good too) (recipe below)
- 2 cups of roast chicken meat, diced into bite sized chunks
- 4 oz dried orzo pasta or whatever flavor you like
Chicken Stock:
After making a roasted chicken, I make a delicious stock. I let it simmer for 2-3 hours, strain it and put in the refrigerator for the night.
- Chicken remains (remove skin so it isn't as fatty)
- Onion, chopped into large chunks
- Celery, chopped into large chunks
- Carrots, chopped into large chunks
- Bay leaf
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Garlic
- Dried basil
- Salt & pepper
Soup:
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add onion and stir for 1-2 minutes; add carrots, celery and garlic then stir for 60 seconds. Stir in chicken stock, diced chicken, bay leaf, dried basil, chicken bouillon then season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 1 hour; bring to a boil and add dried orzo pasta and cook per instructions. Taste and re-season if needed. I served with fresh bread and butter. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment