Chicken Soup for a Cold Weekend

Healthy Chicken Soup for a Cold Weekend

Soup can be a great, healthy meal for singles or families. Besides warming you up on an especially cold winter day, left-over soup stretches into a quick additional meal for later in the week.

I'll be cooking up a batch of quick chicken soup later this afternoon. I'm afraid that I don't have the specific nutrition breakdown per bowl, but it is an overall healthy dish. It will serve 4-6 people an average size bowl of soup. The addition of alphabet pasta adds interest for my family and will for yours as well. I use the microwave to par-cook the pasta and save prep time.

My Quick Alphabet Chicken Soup 

1 cooked rotisserie chicken
2 cups of chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic (I use the prepared garlic such as Spice World brand)
1/2 - 2/3 of cup of dried alphabet letter shaped pasta
48-64 oz of low-fat chicken stock (1 1/2 to 2 of the large size chicken stock containers)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Strip the rotisserie chicken and remove all the skin and fat. Slice the meat (both light and dark) into small bites. Place sliced chicken into bowl
Slice raw vegetables and place into bowl.

Put pasta in a microwave safe container and cover with about 2-3 inches of extra water
Microwave pasta on high power for 10 minutes. Check pasta for softness and cook further to desired softness.

Drain pasta in a colander.

Add olive oil to soup pot under medium-high heat
Add vegetables and garlic to olive oil
Saute vegetables until they become soft
Add one 32 oz container of chicken stock to vegetables
Add chicken and pasta to soup
Add additional chicken stock to desired amount - thicker vs thinner soup
Bring mixture to boil for 5-10 minutes
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Reduce heat to simmer and serve when ready

Here is a bonus for 25 comforting chicken soup recipes courtesy of Cooking Light.