In my house, we’ve all been sick since the week before Christmas. This usually happens when the weather here in central Florida acts like a yo-yo. One day it’s 80 degrees, the next day it’s 40 degrees, the next day it’s 60 degrees, then back to the low 80’s. The humidity drops or rises just enough for all us of to end up with severe colds. There’s only one cure for a severe cold: homemade chicken soup with orzo. Orzo is a small tear drop looking pasta that’s perfect for soups. A good substitute for orzo pasta is ditalini.
We like our soups thick and filled with lots of goodies like chicken, vegetables, and pasta (the best part). To make chicken soup with orzo, start by making a soup base. Add fresh carrots, chopped onion, celery, and chicken to a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the chicken completely. Make sure you add plenty of celery leaves to the broth. Generously salt the soup base. On occasion, I also add a couple of peppercorns, but I mostly just add ground pepper. Cook the chicken and the broth until the chicken is done and the vegetables are fork tender.
When the chicken is done, remove the vegetables from the broth. I usually put the chicken aside until it is mostly cool, then I break it up with my fingers into bite size pieces. Add the chicken back to the broth along with fresh carrots and celery. Simmer until the celery and carrots are tender. While the soup is simmering, cook the orzo in a separate pot. Drain well, then add to the soup. This prevents the pasta from absorbing all of the broth. Chicken soup with orzo is one of my favorite comfort foods.
Chicken Soup with Orzo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 4-5 pound chicken plus 2 or 3 extra thighs or legs or backs
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 stalks celery with leaves
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 4 carrots cleaned and sliced
- Salt & pepper
- 2 cups cooked orzo pasta
Instructions
- Rinse chicken well. Do not remove skin. In a large stock pot, cover chicken completely with water and about one-inch more. Add two stalks of celery with leaves, 2 carrots, and onion. Salt generously. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat. Discard celery and carrots. Skim fat or grayish foam and discard. Remove chicken from pot. Set aside and cool completely.
- Remove cooled chicken from the bone and tear into bit size pieces. Add to the broth along with the remaining carrots and celery. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
- While the broth is simmering, cook pasta in a medium saucepan according to package directions. Drain well and add to soup mixture, one cup at a time. Add pepper and adjust salt as needed.
That looks like the perfect thing to chase those cold bugs away! I love homemade chicken soup, especially when it is full of chunks like this one! I hope everyone feels better soon!
What a tasty soup recipe, Sherry. Pinned and Tweeted. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Looks delicious! I love to try new soup recipes 🙂 Pinning and tweeting. Thanks for linking up with us for Snickerdoodle Sunday!
~Laurie
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe at Funtastic Friday!
This looks delicious – a nice warm soup on a cold winter night. Thanks for sharing this, pinned! Found you at Friday Favorites!
Oooh this sounds so good, it’s in the negative temps here and I am crazing some yummy soup!
Pinned ya (:
(Visiting from the #SundayBlogHop)
Now that sounds like a great winter meal! Thanks for sharing at My Flagstaff Home!
Jennifer
This looks so delicious!! Thank you for sharing!!
I bought some orzo awhile back and having been waiting to find the perfect recipe. This looks like a great recipe. I’ll have to try it.
I love homemade soups! Orzo is so good in soups too!
I love home-made soup (and orzo) and this looks fantastic~Thanks for sharing this on our Throwback Thursday link party! I love it! I’ll be pinning, too, so be sure to follow us there, and see you next week! 🙂
Mollie
It’s pretty chilly here in Ohio today and I could totally go for a big warm bowl of this soup today! It sounds and looks so delicious 😀
Hi Gorgeous! Your soup looks delicious! Your post has been Pinned,Tweeted and shared on Facebook! I’ll be featuring it this week on the Friday Favorites Link Party at Mustlovehome.com. Come by the party to see your feature and share what you have been working on this week! The doors open at 7PM every Thursday. Hugs – Christine at Must Love Home
I’m so sorry you have all ended up with colds but I’m so happy you’ve shared this recipe with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop! I love orzo but I hadn’t thought about using it in soups. Your chicken soup looks amazing – I really hope it’s helping chase the colds away. Sharing!