Chicken Soup - The Old Stand By

I think everyone has a standby dish they can whip up in a short time that is tasty and satisfying.  For me, it's chicken soup.  I am not the old fashioned kind of chicken soup lady.  No buying a chicken and cooking it in water with herbs and seasonings to make the perfect broth.  The products they have at the stores now are pretty tasty and a lot quicker.  The two things I cheat on are the broth and the chicken.  I buy Swanson's low sodium chicken broth, and a Perdue chicken breast that is already roasted by the supermarket.  UD and I both prefer white meat, which is why I get the breast only.  But they obviously have whole chickens if you would prefer a mix of white and dark. 

Of course I always start with kosher salt, ground black pepper and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).  I also use the McCormick grinder, labeled Italian Herb Seasoning.  In this grinder is dried rosemary, black pepper, garlic, onion, sea salt, tomato and parsley.  When you grind these herbs, it really wakes up their flavors, which really helps to make this soup taste like it was made from scratch. 

The vegetables are 7 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 of a red onion and 4 ears of corn on the cob.  I just started adding corn to the soup a couple of summers ago.  It really sweetens the flavor. 

I experimented with freezing the corn so I could have it all winter long.  It works very well.  Blanch the corn in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes.  Remove it and let it cool.  Scrape off the kernels from the cob and place whatever amount you want in individual freezer zip bag, or use your Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer.  Add a teaspoon of water to the bag and remove the excess air.  You will have fresh corn all year round.

Then I pull out the two cheats.  The broth (two 32 oz boxes) and the chicken breast.

I chop the carrots and celery into good sized chunks. But I cut the onion into fairly small pieces.

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat, and add the EVOO.  Once the oil is heated, add the carrots and celery.  Season with salt, pepper and Italian herbs.  Cook these a couple of minutes and then add the the onion.  Cook those a couple of more minutes and add the corn.  Mix everything together and cook a few more minutes. Taste to see if you need to add more salt and pepper.

When the veggies are still somewhat firm, add the broth and the chicken chunks.  

Mix everything together and let it simmer until all the flavors have blended together.  Taste again to see if you need to add more seasoning.

When you are ready to serve, cook up some pasta or rice and add to the individual bowls before adding the soup. 

This is the elbow version of Quinoa (keen-wah) Pasta.  It's healthy and delicious.

Some fresh chopped parsley and freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese is a nice way to top the dish, and delicious too.  Voila.  A quick and tasty dinner.

A bientot!  See you soon.