Chicken and Vegetable Soup

This recipe is without a doubt my absolute favorite frozen dish. I make it in bulk and stock my freezer for easy (and healthy!) weeknight lunches.

It’s such a great base that you can serve it as is, but there’s enough broth to add rice, tortellini, pasta, potatoes and more! I like to freeze the soup as is and adjust the portion sizes when I reheat it later.Below are instructions on how I recommend integrating each of these plugins!

 Ingredients

 Soup

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ¼ lbs. Chicken, see notes
• Salt/pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• ¾ cup carrots, diced
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn/green beans)

Spices

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon EACH: dried basil, oregano, mustard powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

 Instructions

• Pat the chicken dry and season with salt/pepper. Heat olive oil in a 4.5-quart stock pot over medium-high heat.Add the chicken and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until a golden crust forms. (It’s okay if the center is uncooked, it will simmer and finish cooking later in the soup.)
• Remove the chicken and set aside. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then chop or crumble it.
• Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat.Use a silicone spatula to “wipe” the bottom and sides of the pot. This incorporates the brown “honey” into the broth, which adds lots of flavor.
• Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Stir to combine.• Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back into the soup along with the juice from the bowl and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Add the frozen vegetables. Partially cover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.Participate!

Notes

 Crock Pot Method

• Add all ingredients to slow cooker, including raw or diced chicken. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
• Even better! If possible, brown the chicken first.(This Dutch oven allows you to make it right on the stove without dirtying  another pot.) You can then  add the butter and use a silicone spatula to “scrape” the bottom of the pot, which will make the broth more flavorful and add color and texture of the chicken. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.