JoeSoCookbook: Simple Chicken & Vegetable Soup

With April just around the corner and the first cookouts of the season in the books, I didn't expect to post a soup recipe, of all things, this week, but here we go. I don't even eat soup very often, let alone make it, but we had a bunch of vegetables around, and the mercury has dipped low this week. With that in mind I bring you the very basics of a simple chicken and vegetable soup. I think it turned out pretty well.

You need 3 basic things: chicken, vegetables, and broth. You'll probably also want tomato paste, spices, and maybe a fat like oil or butter. You put everything in a large pot (or a dutch oven or slow cooker) and simmer for a couple hours. Today I decided just to use what I had on hand, and not to use any added fat. Use a basic ratio of 3 Cups broth, 3 Cups chopped vegetables, 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, and 3 boneless chicken thighs.

Ingredients:

For chicken, although I prefer thighs, today I had breasts available, so I used 2 medium chicken breasts, cut small.
For veggies, I used 1 banana pepper, half an onion, half of a carrot, 3 garlic cloves, half of a tomato, a handful of green beans, half a zucchini, and I wish I had a can of corn to dump in too.
3 T. tomato paste and an extra cup of broth will help
oregano, thyme, cilantro, and parsley

Directions:

I brought 3 cups of broth to a boil in my Dutch oven, stirred in 3 T. of tomato paste while the broth boiled, then dumped in the chicken and all the veggies (and spices) and put the heat on low.
I cooked it for maybe 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
I shook in a tablespoon or two of shredded Parmesan cheese about an hour before I stopped cooking too, which gave it a great cheesy smell and a bit of creaminess.