Homemade Chicken Soup

Is there anything better than chicken soup on a cold day? I love everything about it. I love how the aroma fills the house, how the soup tastes better the next day and that the recipe is so flexible and forgiving.

Soup is a great way to use up whatever needs to be eaten in the fridge. I have a loose recipe that I follow but it is never the same soup twice. I don’t measure the ingredients yet it always turns out delicious. 

Included each time I make this soup is the following:

Chicken stock, one pound of tomatoes (defrosted or canned), cooked chicken, oregano, salt and pepper. The rest depends on what I have on hand.  I always add a green (kale or spinach) and then either a grain or beans. Here is the recipe for the chicken soup I made this week.

Homemade Chicken Soup

I leek, cleaned and chopped, white and light green part only

2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds

2 sticks of celery, chopped

½ cup of pearl barley

Chicken broth (at least four cups)

1 lb of tomatoes, crushed

2 cups of cooked chicken

Large handful of curly kale, stems removed and chopped

Oregano, salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil to a large soup pot. Add the leeks, carrots, celery and barley. Saute until the veggies are soft and the barley toasted. Add the stock and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cover and reduce to low. Let simmer for thirty minutes. Add the chicken, kale and oregano to taste. Simmer for an additional fifteen minutes or until the barley is cooked. Adjust the seasoning and serve with crusty bread. 

This soup freezes beautifully and makes a perfect quick supper when reheated. 

Do you wing it when it comes to making soup?

 See you in the kitchen, 

Sue