Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ease: 3/5     Taste: 5/5     Kid-friendliness: 4/5     Time: 2/5


Family: 0; Nasty Cold: 4
Don't hide away the soup recipes just yet...

For me, nothing says Spring like the arrival of a bad cold. And one has hit our household. I find soups to be a little high maintenance in terms of prep work, but they are sometimes worth it. They are a way to get vegetables into your children (admittedly, I often have to bribe my daughter with a grill cheese sandwich), you can make a ton and they usually freeze quite well. Which means the next time you catch a cold, you'll have some great homemade soup on hand to perk you up and give you a deserved night off in the kitchen.


Mine looks a lot more minced up than yours probably would. That's because I chopped the vegetables really fine so that my poor snotty nine month old could eat it too.


What you'll need:

• 8 C chicken broth (or stock if you've recently made a roast chicken and made stock from it)
• 1 pound cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks; if you haven't recently made a roast chicken, Lillydale does make packaged cooked chicken breast chunks now. Super convenient! Great for sandwiches too. 
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 medium stalks celery, coarsely chopped (include tops)
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp crushed dried thyme
• 2 tsp crushed dried basil
• 1 large bay leaf
• 8 black peppercorns
• onion salt to taste
• 1 1/2 C frozen peas

Place the broth in a large soup pot, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, and reduce heat to medium. 

Add the chicken, onions, garlic, and celery to the pot and stir to mix. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, carrots, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in the peas, cover, and simmer for 15-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Serve and enjoy!


Recipe inspired by "Turkey Vegetable Soup" in Karen Bellerson's Low Fat, No Fat Cooking