Healthy Old Broad

Healthy Baked Goods Recipes Made Without Gluten and Sugar

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

by

While it is the season to party and consume rich fattening food here is a recipe to give you a very healthy food break. Great for a cold winter night meal.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 sweet chicken sausage (casing removed)
  • 6 chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces (of course you can use breast if you prefer) Salt & Pepper the chicken pieces.
  • 1 large yellow onion – finely chopped
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 medium shallot – finely chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper – finely chopped
  • 7 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
  • 2 leeks – cleaned and finely chopped
  • 2 fennel heads – finely chopped
  • 7 Meyer or regular lemons (I like to use Meyer lemons when in season)
  • 1 top of the fennel fronds
  • 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
  • several sprigs of fresh thyme (tied together with twine)
  • 2 quarts of low sodium vegetable broth (separated) *
  • 1 12oz DeLAllo gluten free orzo
  • 1 5oz bag Power Greens (baby kale, baby chard, baby spinach)
  • 1/2 bag frozen peas
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven, add chicken sausage meat and brown. Remove sausage to colander to drain. Add another tablespoon olive oil to dutch oven and add chicken pieces, saute to get color on the chicken, then remove and add to colander.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to dutch oven, add onion, carrots, pepper, shallots, leeks, salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes. Add fennel and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
  3. Add the juice of the 7 lemons into the dutch oven and then add the peels, the fennel frond, rosemary and thyme and 1 quart of the vegetable broth. Add the chicken and sausage back into the pot, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  4. Remove the fennel frond, lemon rinds, fresh herb stems.
  5. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth and the orzo, simmer for about 15 minutes (until orzo is tender)
  6. Add the peas and power greens to wilt and the remaining broth from second quart. When greens are wilted your are ready to enjoy. Garnish with the trimmings of the 2nd fennel frond.
  7. *NOTE: you might want to have additional broth on hand as the orzo will drink up more of the broth when the leftover soup is stored in the refrigerator, so when you reheat the leftovers you might want to add additional broth.

Chicken Sausage Soup

by

It’s cold, it’s rainy and you want something comforting; yet it is the beginning of the year and you said you would eat healthy – well here is a soup that that is warming, healthy and yummy.

Chicken Sausage Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 1/2 sweet sausages (pork or chicken) – removed from casing
  • 2 1/2 hot/spicy sausages (pork or chicken – removed from casing
  • 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 8 piece cut up chicken (skin on and bone in)
  • 1 quart of vegetable broth + additional 1/2 quart of veggie broth
  • 1 piece of Parmesan rind
  • 5 to 6 springs fresh thyme
  • 1 bag (1 lb 12oz) small potato melody (cut potatoes into quarters)
  • 1 cup frozen roasted corn
  • 1 cup fresh (or frozen) peas
  • 1/2 bag (3 oz) baby spinach
  • 1/2 bag (5 oz) Tuscan kale
  1. In a large dutch oven heat the olive oil, add the chopped onion, carrot & celery, sprinkle with salt & pepper and saute for 3 to 5 minutes
  2. Add sausage meat to pan, break into little pieces and continue to cook.
  3. Add coriander, bay leafs, paprika, basil and chopped garlic. Stir all ingredients together and cook until sausages are browned.
  4. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and add to pot skin side down to brown. Cook for about 5 minutes…remember color means flavor.
  5. Now add the chunked pieces of onion, 1 quart of vegetable broth, parm rind, 7 thyme sprigs and simmer covered for about 40 minutes.
  6. Remove chicken pieces from pot, along with thyme stems. Skin the chicken, remove from bones, shred or cut up the chicken meat and put back in soup pot. Add corn, peas and 1/2 quart of vegetable broth and continue to simmer covered for 35 minutes.
  7. Add the spinach and kale to pot and continue to simmer until wilted (about 10 minutes).
  8. Now you have a very tasty nutritious soup. Enjoy!