Chicken, Dumpling, and Quinoa soup

 Are you ready to try one of the most flavorful and tasty soups I know of?  This soup is oh so good.  Perfect for our cold rainy day yesterday.  We paired it with some cornbread because I didn't have time to make rolls or bread sticks, but this soup can stand on its own if needed, that's for sure!  The dumplings are more like a schnitzel-tiny little dumplings-and are tasty themselves. This soup scored a home run in my book!

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup

This is a GREAT Crockpot recipe!  It was a hit here!!!

Dainty Chef

Chicken Ranch, and Rice Soup..thank you Picky Palate

I love soup.  I could eat soup all summer long.  If you aren't a summer soup eating person, just save this recipe for the fall.  This makes for a tasty meal.  It has ranch seasoning in it, which wakes up the traditional chicken and rice soup.  It is nice to get some different flavor dimensions.  It is also a quick recipe, so you can make some homemade rolls too and not feel like you have been living in the kitchen all day. 

 

recipe found on Picky Palate

(check it out, she has some pretty great stuff!)

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Cups of cooked rice (which would be 1 cup of dry rice)
64 oz chicken broth (that's 2 cartons-not cans)
1 Tablespoon dry Ranch Dressing seasoning
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce, like Tabasco (optional)


Directions:
1. Heat oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat.
2. When hot, saute onion, carrots and celery for 7-10 minutes or until softened slightly. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Stir in chicken breast and rice then pour in chicken broth. Stir, then season with ranch seasoning, salt, pepper and add in Dijon and hot sauce.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer until serving. Taste and season accordingly.

Chicken Stew

Found here

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

2      Tbsp olive oil

2      chicken breast, skin-on and bone-in* (~1 1/2lbs), trimmed excess fat

2      stalks of celery, cut into bite-size pieces

1      carrot, peeled, cut into bite size pieces

1      small onion, chopped

2      small gloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tsp)

1      can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice

1      can (14 oz.) low sodium chicken broth

1/2   cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

1      Tbsp tomato paste

1      bay leaf

1/2   Tbsp fresh (or 1/2 tsp dried) thyme

1      tsp Italian seasoning

1      tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to your own taste)

1     can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I skipped this ingredient since it is not something I usually have!)

Directions: 

1.  Brown the chicken - Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a heavy 5 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot but not smoking, brown the chicken breast skin size down first, 3 to 4 mins on both sides, until the pink is almost gone. Remove chicken from saucepan, discard the skins. (I used frozen chicken breast, and did not brown them, I boiled them until they were almost cooked through and it turned out great!). 

2.  Saute the veggies - With the oil from the chicken in the saucepan over medium heat, (add more olive oil to make up to about 2 Tbsp), saute the celery, carrot and onion until the onion is translucent, about 4 to 5 mins. Add the minced garlic to the veggies and stir for a few seconds.  Season the veggies with salt and pepper to taste. 

3.  Add liquid, seasonings and chicken - Stir in tomatoes with juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, Italian seasonings and red pepper flakes. Put the chicken breasts and any juice came out back the pan, press to submerge. 

4.  Let it simmer - Bring the cooking liquid to a boil and turn down the heat to medium0low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the chicken is almost cooked through, about 25 mins.  Flip over the chicken breast and stir the mixture occassionally.

5.  Add beans - Take out the chicken breasts and let it cool for 5 mins.Add the chickpeas and simmer until the liquid has reduced to stew consistency, about 10 mins. 

6.  Add shredded chicken - Remove and discard the bones from the chicken breast. Shred or cut chicken into bite-size pieces.  Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Taco Soup

I got this recipe from a friend at work, and tweaked it a but to be my own. It is simple and fast, and a good way to rotate through your food storage! It can be as spicy or mild as you like. If you like it spicy, add spicier things-like diced tomatoes with peppers, or spicy taco mix, or hot salsa-or mild everything, it's up to you. Try it out sometime!

Ingredients:

2 Cans Black Beans (drained)
2 Cans Stewed Tomatoes-I use diced (do not drain)
2 Cans Yellow Corn (do not drain)
1 lb Ground Beef
2 Cans Chicken Broth
5 Tbsp Salsa
1 Onion Chopped
1 Garlic Clove minced
1 pkg Taco Seasoning-I used 3/4 a pkg
2 Cans of water (I usually omit this, I maybe add 1/2 a can, any more would overflow my pot :) )

Brown the meat with the Garlic in your pot, drain fat. Add all the ingredients (including liquid in corn and tomato cans)to the browned meat in your pot. Let simmer until frothy and hot (usually about 20-30 min). Add Tortilla Chips, Cheese, and Sour Cream if desired. Enjoy!