Something To Keep You Warm

There’s nothing I love more than a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter night.  A bowl of soup and my snuggie, of course.  I mean, who doesn’t love a snuggie?!  But I digress.  There’s truly nothing more comforting than a hearty bowl of soup laden with flavor…and a heaping scoop of shredded parmesan.  When I found this recipe, I knew it would be a keeper and I couldn’t have been more right.  The original recipe says to make this in a crockpot, but being the forgetful cook that I am I didn’t prepare for that at all.  So I made it the old fashioned way….right on the stovetop.  And it.was.AWESOME.

CHICKEN PARMESAN SOUP

via Foxes Love Lemons

3-4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 (14.5 oz} can crushed tomatoes

1/2 lb. – 1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes {we used a smidge or two more…we like it spicy!}

4 oz. mezze penne pasta {I think Ditalini would be good, too!!}

 

First get started chopping the veggies & herbs.  Don’t forget to press your garlic, too!  These are some of my most favorite flavors right here, people.

Add the garlic, bell pepper, onion, basil, oregano, crushed tomato, chicken broth, & red pepper flakes to a large pot.  Stir in half a cup of shredded parmesan and add the chicken.  I cut my chicken into bit sized pieces because I feel like that makes it cook faster.  Am I fooling myself?!  Who cares.  The added step was hardly noticeable.  When I’m trying out a new recipe, I typically like to follow it verbatim before I add my own little spin.  That means I can be a little too precise when it comes to measurements and such.  I could only find a 28 oz. can of the crushed tomatoes and just to be 100% sure I had the right amount, I had to measure it out with one of my favorite kitchen tools.  I could’ve easily just poured half the can in the pot and called it a day, but my OCD got the best of me.  Dangit.

 

Now return the pot the the stovetop and cook on medium – high heat and cover, stirring occasionally.  I cooked the soup for about 10 minutes before I added in the pasta.  You’ll only need 4 oz.  I accidentally added the whole box.  Let me just tell you that it was darn delicious just like that, but heck if it was a lot of pasta.  It soaked up most of the “soup” and I ended up adding more chicken broth.  It was AMAZING, but next time I’ll use less pasta….maybe even try the Ditalini.  And y’all…it was even better the next day albeit more of a pasta dish instead of soup.  HA!! 

Cook on the stovetop, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Then pour yourself a steaming bowl and top with a generous amount of shredded parmesan cheese.  Ohmiword.  Definitely one of the best…and EASIEST…soups I’ve ever tried!  A winter favorite, for sure!