Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

A big winter storm blowing in up north... So I thought I'd give you guys a new recipe to warm up with! Pretty much this is a chicken noodle soup but with lemon added to the broth. But it is a light meal if you have a bigger lunch and this can be prepared very quickly!

I adapted this recipe from two blogs (Panera's Low Fat Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and Two Peas and Their Pod) to create the recipe below.

To adjust this to a faster cooking time use precooked chicken (left overs or store bought rotisseree chicken). If you have fresh chicken instead, cook it in the skillet while the onions/carrots/celery are cooking and the broth is starting to come together. This also would have a been a great soup minus the chicken too, just add in some extra veggies and it would be so flavorful!!
 
I didn't have orzo so I broke up some pieces of linguine and used that instead. I had a small bit of broccoli left over so I added that in the pot. Some baby spinach or green beans also could have been a nice addition. I might sub in chickpeas or cannellini beans next time fo the chicken.
 

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Makes 2-3 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

4 cups of chicken broth
Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup)

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta

2-3 cups diced chicken

1 tsp dried flat-leaf parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until tender, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Add the chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add dried parsley and lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cook pasta separately according to the box directions, and then combine into the soup when serving.

Discard the bay leaf prior to serving. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve!

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite comfort foods and is tastes great as a leftover. When I was in college I realized that I should make the crust separate from the filling so I could make individual servings and not have a soggy crust. It would taste fresh made instead of leftovers! And cooks faster than having to heat it in the oven or risk a soggy crust in the microwave.

This recipe was adapted from my own kitchen and from Simply Scratch. I like to think that this is a straightforward recipe with no random ingredients. It cooks quickly and makes quite a bit. I only used 3 chicken thighs and it could have used probably an additional one. I am actually really happy with how this recipe came out and wouldn't change any of the seasonings.

Note: The chicken could cook in the pot with the rest of the meal instead of in a frying pan. Add the chicken (small dice) in just before adding in the liquids. Cook a few minutes then add the potatoes and about 1 cup of stock. Stir around to create the thickened gravy. Add the rest of the stock and simmer until potatoes are fork tender and chicken is done.  

Another option is to use a rotisserie chicken from the store.

Fork tender potatoes literally means, when a fork is poked into the potato that it will come off the fork easily.

Enjoy!

Saute the veg in some oil

Cover in the flour

Add butter

Meanwhile cook some chicken

Add liquids, potatoes, seasonings

Add chicken and frozen veggies when potatoes
are tender and liquid is thickened

Top with a biscuit!

Chicken Pot Pie

serves 4

3 - 5 pieces of chicken thighs, or breast

3 tbsp Butter

2 whole Carrots, peeled and diced small (or about 1 ½ cups of baby carrots)

2 Celery Stalks, diced small

1 small Onion, peeled and diced small 

3 medium Potatoes, diced small

1/2 cup Flour

2 - 3 cups Chicken Broth, warmed

1-1/2 cups Whole Milk

1 tablespoon Dried Parsley

1 teaspoon Dried Thyme

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, more or less to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, more or less to taste

1 bag frozen mixed veggies (Mine was a country mix with carrots, peas, green beans, corn, and lima beans)

1 can of Pillsbury biscuits (cooked according to directions for as many servings as you want)

Heat a frying pan and add some oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until done (no pink inside), dice.

Melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add in the diced carrots, celery, onions, salt, and pepper (1 tbsp) cook. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the carrots are soft, approx 5 minutes. Add another 1½ tbsp of butter and stir until melted. Add in flour, stir until all the veggies are coated with the flour and the flour isn’t white anymore.

Pour in ½ cup to 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir until slightly thickened. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth, milk, potatoes, parsley, and thyme. Simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened and potatoes are fork tender (approx 10-15 minutes).

Add more flour in about ¼ cup at a time if broth/gravy isn’t thick enough.

Add chicken and frozen veggies. Once the veggies are warmed it is ready to serve!

Barley Salad with Hebs

I found this recipe in Martha Steward Living, April 2012 (also here). Made it as a side dish with my roast beef. Very easy! I added a tsp of garlic powder because I think everything is better with garlic!

The recipe also recommends any green herbs that you have on hand and lists basil, mint, chives, parsley, or dill.
 
Barley Salad with Herbs
serves 6

1 c barley
2 tsb diced onion
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp garlic
Salt
Pepper

Cook barley according to package instructions.
Meanwhile mix onion, mustard, olive oil, and parsley as well as salt and pepper.
Combine barley with dressing.
Serve warm.