Hearty Chicken and Vegetable Soup

It inevitably seems that in the winter, Justin and I tend to catch colds/flus/plagues around the same time together....and this week happens to be one of those times.  With sore throats and achy bodies, sometimes you just need a good old bowl of Chicken Soup.  However, I've never actually made chicken soup (which I feel is un-American of me)....so last night I kind of winged it when it came to our soup.  I wanted it to be packed full of veggies and chicken and have a rich broth with lots of flavor.  I looked up a few recipes but wasn't enthralled by any, so I decided that if I put my mind to it, and incorporated my favorite flavors, I could make an awesome soup.  I was making this after work, and most recipes in which you make your own stock take about 4 hours to make (not happening) so I went with a pre-made low sodium stock....I also am not a huge fan of Chicken Soups where the broth to veggie/chicken ratio is 10:1. I am more from the Stew school of thought, so my soup was less broth, more hearty goodness!

Sazi Chicken Soup

32oz Chicken Stock (Low Sodium)
2 lbs Chicken Breasts
2 Celery Stalks
2 Carrots
1/2 Medium White Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
Handful of Fresh Parseley
1 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Dill
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Oregano
10oz package of Frozen Spinach Leaves
1 lb Orzo Pasta
3 cups of Water
1/2 tsp Cholula Hot Sauce
Parmesan Cheese
  

>In a shallow pot, add your Chicken Breasts and cover with all of your chicken broth.  Cook on a medium heat until the Chicken is cooked through (about 10 minutes).  Remove chicken from the stock and shred - set aside.

>Meanwhile chop up your Onion, Celery, Carrots, Garlic and Parsley.

> In a fat separator,  pour your chicken stock in to de-fat (if you don't have one, you can just scrape the excess fat off the top with a spoon - or leave in the fat for more flavor).

>In a large pot, pour in your chicken stock, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, parsley, thyme, dill, cumin, red pepper flakes, ginger and oregano. Cook on a medium heat until the carrots start to soften up.

>Once the carrots start to soften, pour in your orzo and your water and cook until those are soft (about 5 minutes).  Then add in your cooked and shredded chicken, and your spinach.  Cook until the spinach is completely thawed. In the last minute, add in your cholula (or hot sauce of choice).

I served our soup with bread because Justin is a carb maniac and would be mildly upset if there were no bread-like side dish. I topped the soup with Parmesan Cheese  which gives it a great flavor since I didn't add in any salt to the soup.  I will say the soup was absolutely addictive and filling, and is SUPER healthy! This recipe makes a large pot-full of chicken soup which is great - you can always freeze it for later!