Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

I am the worst blogger ever!!! I just want you to know that I havent been totally ignoring the blog. I didnt cook for about a week when my husband was away and the other 2 weeks I have made recipes that I have blogged about already. BUT there are 2 stand out meals I have made that must be discussed. So here is my new favorite soup recipe

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 2 cups of chunked cooked chicken---I used my Shoprite unseasoned Rotisserie chicken breast
• 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 8 cups chicken stock--I used 2 boxes of Emeril or Rachel Ray Stock
• 1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Coarsely cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat Large Pot over medium heat with 2 tbs olive oil. Add 1 1/3 cups carrot, 1 1/4 cups onion, 1 cup celery, and salt to pan; Saute until onion is translucent. Add Stock and reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add reserved chicken, and simmer 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add pasta to pan with chicken and broth mixture; stir in parsley, rind, and juice. Garnish each serving with lemon wedges and cracked black pepper.

VERDICT

So who knew the addition of a little bit of lemon could make such a HUGE difference. I love love love this soup. The lemon flavor was subtle, but really very fresh. I also needed to add more parsley but I was afraid it would scare the kids off. In the original recipe they wanted you to make your own stock with a whole chicken but I dont have time for any of that. I am sure its great but that would require me to start dinner prep a day in advance and that my friend isnt happening at this stage of my life. If you are unsure about the lemon flavor might slowly add it and do a taste test. In some of the reviews for it (which I read after) they felt the lemon was too overpowering and I found it to be just enough. Since you dont know how fresh the lemon is you might add a little bit at a time.