Chicken Soup with Italian Flavors

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From early October through April, there is almost always a pot of chicken soup in my fridge. I always start it the same way, with a mirepoix of celery, carrot and onion. The recipe varies dependent upon what veggies and which shape noodles I add into the mix. Sometimes I prepare it without the tomato sauce. This is an incredibly flexible recipe. Sometimes I just call it my “Everything but the kitchen sink chicken soup!”

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Get out your biggest soup pot, your cutting board and all the vegetables in the fridge. I use one large onion, one half a stalk of celery (chopped up it equals about 1 cup) and an equal amount of chopped carrots.

Sauté your mirepoix in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. This will help the veggies release water which will aid in cooking them. Once the onions have become translucent, you’re ready to start adding your other veggies.

I like to add two chopped peppers. Usually I pick a red one and a yellow one to add more color to the soup. Sauté for a few minutes more. Sprinkle with sea salt again. Seasoning with each layer you add to the soup will ensure a well seasoned and flavorful soup.

Once the peppers have softened up, add other veggies such as mushrooms, chopped zucchini, or frozen peas or corn niblets. Sauté until everything seems to be incorporated and warm.

Add 1 Tablespoon of dried Oregeno, 1 Tablespoon dried Basil, and usually I would add almost 1 Tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes - but of course, you can alter it to taste. Remember, the longer you cook red pepper flakes, the hotter they get! Stir until it looks like the herbs are evenly distributed throughout the veggie mixture.

Stir in 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic. Again, stir until it is incorporated.

Now, add one large can of crushed tomatoes with italian seasonings. Stir until it is distributed throughout the vegetables. Like I said before, if you want to skip the tomato part - it tastes equally as wonderful without it!

Open one box of chicken stock and pour over the mixture. bring to a boil. While the vegetables cook, you’re going to add a half a package of dry noodles. (I usually use whole wheat, but that is a personal choice. Sometimes I use ravioli stuffed with cheese ~yummity-yum!) They are going to absorb a lot of liquid, so you may want to add more stock as needed.

Cut chicken breasts into cubes. Mr. D likes extra chicken in the soup, so I add at least 4 whole chicken breasts or 8 halves. This is completely up to you, it would be completely fine with only half of that amount. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a frying pan with a little chicken stock for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Place into the soup. Cook about 10 minutes more.

This “Italian” chicken soup is extra tasty with parmesan sprinkled over the top. Enjoy!

P.S. You may want to have extra stock on the side for leftovers. The noodles and vegetables continue to absorb stock as the days pass, so feel free to supplement the leftovers with extra stock.