Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

“But since soup mainly involves tossing everything in a pot and waiting,
it's one of my better dishes.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

I don't have many soups in my repertoire...yet. This is one I have adapted to our taste over time. Plus with the amount of different illnesses that are going around how could you not want a bowl of chicken noodle soup. This uses the Shredded Chicken recipe that I posted last week.

If you re not a huge fan of lemon, you may want to cut the amount of lemon juice in half. The beauty of this recipe is your can tailor it to fit your preferred taste.

I love how the Shredded Chicken give this soup a homestyle feeling.

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 6 servings, 162 calories, 18g carbs, 3g fat, 18g protein

Ingredients:

• 1/2 T Olive Oil
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, Chopped
  
• 18 Baby Carrots, Sliced
• 6 Medium Celery Stalks Chopped
• 1/2 t Dried Thyme
• 6 c Cooking Stock, Chicken (I used Swansons, no salt added)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3/4 c Uncooked Orzo
• 1/2 t Dried Oregano
• 1/2 t Dried Tarragon
• 1 c Shredded Chicken
• 1/2 c Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat Olive Oil in large stock pot
2. Add Garlic, Onion, Celery and Baby Carrots.
3. Cook 3-4 minutes, until tender, stirring to prevent sticking or burning.
4. Add Thyme and mix, cooking about 1 minute.
5. Add 2 Bay Leaves and Chicken Stock.
6. Bring soup to a boil.
7. Add Orzo, Shredded Chicken, Oregano, and Tarragon.
8. Return to a simmer and reduce heat.
9. Simmer until Orzo is cooked through. (My box said 9 minutes.)
10. Add Lemon juice and stir to incorporate.
11. Season liberally with Salt and Pepper to taste.
12. Enjoy!

Can you believe that with this many vegetables my kids still ask for this?!