Low-carb Chicken Soup

So it has been a while since I posted anything.  I was kind of time-blocked from blogging while I was finishing up my masters degree and student teaching.  It was a very rewarding experience but extremely time consuming.  All is now complete so here I am! 

I'm sure everyone is battling these extremely frigid temperatures this week.  Here's a quick shot of my hometown report:

Siri told me that it's only 20 in Florida too.  There's something very wrong with that picture!  

This recipe would be perfect for anyone trying to thaw out in this weather but it especially helpful in my house.  Working in education, I sincerely appreciate the occasional snow-day to get caught up on things around the house.  But, my husband is a UPS driver and doesn't get "snow-days" or "inclement weather" days like I do. Poor guy!  He's freezing his tail off working outside in this craziness!  This is one of his favorite soups to thaw out on.  I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as we do!

Low-Carb Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 tbsp veg/canola oil

3 carrots (washed but not skinned)

3 stalks of celery

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup corn kernels

3 medium russet potatoes

4-6 cups of leafy greens (spinach or kale are my fave)

1 box of low sodium chicken stock

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp savory 

1 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

S&P to taste

First, you are going to need a very large pot.  This makes a lot of soup.  Chop the carrots, celery, and onion.  Make sure they are similar in size.   Throw them in the hot pot with the oil and let them cook for a minute.  Give them about 2-3 minutes alone and then add the garlic.  Do not add the garlic too soon or it could overcook and make the whole pot bitter.  Next, add in the herbs/spices and stir together.  Place the chicken breast on top of veg mixture and add the entire box of stock.  This may or may not cover the chicken but you are still going to need more liquid.  I add 8 cups of water to my pot.  Bring this mixture to a boil and let it boil (rapidly) for about 20-30 minutes.  While it is getting to that point, I peel and dice up the potatoes.  After the chicken is cooked thoroughly, I remove it and add the potatoes.  Chop up the chicken into similar size pieces as the veg and toss back in.  This is where I add the corn.  Let it simmer for about 30 more minutes.  The longer it sits, the better it gets!  About 5 minutes before serving add the leafy greens.  Kale is my favorite in this soup but spinach works just as well.  I have not used another green but if you do, let me know how it works. Once you add the greens, it will start to turn greenish if it sits.  It still tastes good but thought I'd give that heads up.  

This soup is wonderfully, delicious and really hits the spot on a cold day like today.  It could easily be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken with cannellini beans and the stock with vegetable stock. Also, anyone that knows me knows that I hate cooking to a recipe and measuring ingredients.  By all means, if use what you like in the amounts that you like.  Leave out the basil if you don't like it or replace it with something you like.  

The entire pot serves about 8 giant bowls of soup or 10-12 regular size bowls.  I plugged it into myfitnesspal application and posted a screen shot of the nutritional information for you.  This info is based on 8 giant bowls because, well, that is what we eat in my house! If you are on a low carb diet, it doesn't get much better, or filling, than this soup.