#45 Our Chicken Vegetable Soup

I make this dish every week, it is a delicious clear soup and is one of our favorites! I so love the simplicity of this recipe, it is very easy and quick to make. All five vegetables are available all year round, always cheap and highly nutritious. It is very good at helping an ailing body heal, so it is always immediately made when one of us is feeling a little under the weather. Also a light, guilt free food for me, and so for that reason, it sits on the top of my ultimate comfort food list.

How you cook this soup greatly affects it's taste. The secret is, not to overcook the vegetables. I love the natural flavors and very much dislike overcooking because the real flavor disappears! So every time I make this, only the carrots are cooked with the chicken meat, the rest of the vegetables are added only after I turn the heat off. The result? amazing union of flavors!

OUR CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast meat, sliced to bite size

1/2 teaspoon chicken base

6 cups of water

carrots, chopped

green onions, chopped, white (bottom) part and green (leafy) part separated

1 broccoli head, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add water, chicken base, breast meat, white part of the green onions and carrots. Bring to boil.
2. Simmer and cook until chicken is cooked well.
3. Turn off the heat, add broccoli, red bell pepper and the green leafy part of the green onions.
4. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
5. Laddle hot soup into bowl and top with uncooked spinach. Salt and season to taste.