Good Morning!
Iowa fans….are you getting ready for another Hawkeye Football weekend?! We are! I’ve had very little luck finding cute Iowa gear for Bella to sport on game day…but last week, I found a great alternative at Gymboree…
Bella says, “Bzzzzzzzzzz….Goooo Hawks!” 🙂
Whoever it is you are cheering on this weekend, I have a great soup recipe for you to whip up & enjoy during the game.
After surfing Pioneer Woman’s food blog (who doesn’t love her?!), I found this recipe for Italian Chicken Soup…so I whipped up a big batch to share with our dear friends, Tiffany & Sean, who just welcomed a little boy to their family. Upon taste test, I found the soup a little bland for our liking…so I went ahead & doctored it up. The final product…delish!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/italian-chicken-soup/
Below I have inserted her recipe with my additions in red. There is no better time of year to indulge in a pot of homemade soup!
Italian Chicken Soup
Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 box Ditalini Pasta (very Short Macaroni-type Pasta Noodles) (“Tubetti”…very similar!)
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken (I used 2 rotisserie chickens)
- 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
- 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced
- 2 stalks Celery, Diced
- 2 whole Fresh Jalapenos, Diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, Minced
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 can (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes (I used Diced Tomatoes!)
- 1 can (14oz) Petite Diced Tomatoes
- 2 cups Heavy Cream (I used Half & Half)
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano
- Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
- 1/2 Cup Romano Cheese, Freshly Grated
- A pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese Shavings, For Serving
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta in a pot according to package directions, being sure not to -overcook it. Drain and rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
(Rotisserie chicken saves a lot of time here!) Place chicken in a large pot or dutch oven and cover in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer chicken, covered, for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and shred meat. Discard bones and set meat aside.
Dice canned tomatoes and return them to their juice. Set aside. (Or just use pre-diced tomatoes)
Heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and oregano and turn off heat, stirring over the next minute to keep oregano from burning. Set this aside.
Either pour off chicken broth into a separate container or use a new pot to saute garlic, onion, green pepper, celery, and jalapenos in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, grated romano, crushed red pepper, and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add cooked pasta, cream, and all the oregano and olive oil from the small skillet. Stir to combine. Turn off heat. (Once all of the ingredients are in your pot (except the noodles), let the flavors meld over low heat (covered) for 30-40 minutes. Add the noodles just 2 minutes before serving as to not overcook the noodles.)
Serve with lots of Parmesan sprinkled on the top–the more the better! Crusty Italian bread is good, too.
Mmmm…Mmmm…Good! A big thank you to Ree for a great recipe!
Indulge. In Life. In Love. In Food.
INDULGE 