Lemon Ginger Chicken Soup with Orzo

Yet another Sunday Chicken Dinner and I had lots of chicken leftover.  I decided I was going to try something a little different this time when I made Soup.  I added Ginger and Lemon Juice and it was amazing.  I will never make it the old way again.  The Ginger and Lemon added a bit of acidity and freshness.  Instead of regular pasta I used Orzo.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth (I had homemade so I used that)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cups of spinach
1 cup of sliced mushrooms (I like the Baby Bellas)
1 cup Orzo
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add onions and garlic and saute for minute or two until softened.

Add broth, ginger and half of the lemon juice and let come to a simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Add your carrots, celery, mushrooms and chicken and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

PRO TIP:  I place a small sieve or colander into the broth and cook my Orzo in it, then remove it and set aside.  If you leave the pasta in, it will suck up a bunch of broth and make it more like a stew.

Add your spinach and the remainder of the lemon juice and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Salt and Pepper to taste,

To serve, place some Orzo into the bowl, then ladle soup on top.  Store the Orzo separately from the soup.

Leek, Potato, Ham, Bacon and Cheddar Soup

I know it's a mouthful but I wanted to make some soup to use up my leftover ham from last weekends Quiche.  I had a little bacon leftover as well.  It was a super rainy and chilly day and this delicious soup paired with some fresh biscuits made for an amazing dinner.  The bonus was it helped me use up a Quart of the gallons of homemade chicken broth in my freezer.

Ingredients:

Quart homemade Chicken stock if possible
3 large russet potato's peeled and cut into cubes
1 can lowfat evaporated milk
1 leek, rinsed and sliced thinly
2 tbl olive oil or butter
2 slices cooked bacon chopped
cubed ham I used about 2 cups
Sharp Cheddar Cheese (garnish)
Green onions (garnish)
Lots of pepper
1 tbl chives
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tbl dried mushroom powder (only because I have some and made it myself)
2 tbl chopped dried onion

Directions:

Saute the sliced leek in olive oil for about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock and the potatoes.

Let cook for 10 minutes and add in your chives, pepper, salt, thyme and dried onion, let simmer for another 15 minutes.

Continue to cook until the potatoes are done and a knife slides in and out easily.

Use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup if you wish our leave the potato chunks whole

Add your ham and bacon and the evaporated milk (more shredded cheese if you wish) and let come to a simmer for 10 minutes or so

Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheese and green onions