Chicken Quinoa Soup
This is one of those “everything but the kitchen sink” meals. Perfect for when you are cleaning out the fridge and using up all those veggies before the next shopping trip. Dishes like this bring back so many good memories. It is this concept that my grandmother taught me at a young age “you can always make something out of ‘nothing’. My Grandma Lu, is the driving force behind my culinary dreams which eventually evolved into my dreams of be coming a culinary focused dietitian. The first meal she ever taught me to make from scratch was chicken soup, do I remember the recipe? Not at all, but those memories are strong. Plus, lets face it, she was Italian and recipes consisted of “a little of this, some of that, maybe a little more of this”. She taught me to love food, experiment with it, and most of all have fun doing so.
You can really add whatever you have on hand to this soup, fresh tomatoes (or canned diced would work just fine), carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, zucchini, or peas. I like to load up on as many veggies that I can and make a nice hearty soup. This soup has two sources of protein; chicken and quinoa, if you follow a vegetarian diet simply swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock and omit the chicken all together.
What I had on hand was some rotisserie chicken, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, baby red potatoes, dill (left over from another recipe), lemons (always have lemons), and of course quinoa! As mentioned above, there are endless possibilities of what to add in here, next time I think I’ll throw in some green beans too. Get creative.
Chicken Quinoa Soup
Ingredients:
- 6 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock (or Vegetable)
- 1/4 Cup Uncooked Quinoa
- 1 Cup Diced Red Potatoes (Medium Dice 1/2 in)
- 1 Cup Carrots (Quarter Rounds)
- 1/2 Cup Zucchini or Summer Squash (Quarter Rounds)
- 1/3 Cup Diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 Cup Celery (Chopped)
- Meat from 1 Rotisserie Chicken (Skin removed and shredded or two chicken breasts sliced thin)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Spiceologist Greek Freak Seasoning (optional)
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Dill (finely chopped, adds a great spring flavor, optional)
- 1 Tbs fresh oregano (finely chopped, omit if using the Greek Freak seasoning)
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- Zest from one Lemon + 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice (optional)
Method of Preparation:
- In a large stock pot, add the 6 cups of stock and bring to a simmer
- Add in uncooked quinoa and potatoes; cook for 10 minutes
- Add in carrots and cook for an additional five minutes
- Next, add in zucchini, tomatoes, celery, and chicken
- Season with salt, pepper, and spices: Greek Freak Seasoning and/or dill, oregano, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest and juice
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes and vegetable are cooked
- Top with fresh dill and lemon just prior to serving for added flavor
I whipped up a batch of mini gluten-free and dairy free rolls using Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix (minus adding in the cheese), with some Spiceologist Greek Freak in there – perfect combination, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.
*After I posted this picture on Instagram last month, I was looking through my magazines (I usually go through them on the weekends, when I actually have some free time), and the funny part is, I realized there was an uber similar one in the January/February addition of Cooking Light Magazines; great minds think alike I guess.
February 25, 2017 at 8:46 pm | Chef's Corner, Culinary, Dairy-Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten-Free, Peanut Free, Recipe, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, Top 8 Free, Tree Nut Free, Wheat Free | No comment
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