Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup

Why yes, another soup recipe.

It's cold outside, remember?

This means I try less of the new 'sweets & treats' recipes, and try more of my saved recipes involving hearty seasonal ingredients and decadent soups. They feed my little family, and keep them full. Simple as that.

It certainly would be glamorous, though, to bake desserts and treats very often. Unfortunately, it's not realistic for us. So when I make our one-dessert-of-the-week (usually on Sunday) we milk the heck out of it; savoring each sugary morsel.

And as much as we sometimes want to, we don't keep the beautiful 'sweets & treats' all to ourselves... I'm pretty sure our neighbors secretly think we're trying to fatten them up for even more soup. To them: I promise we're not cannibals, so eating you will never be on the table.  

This soup was gorgeous. It's loaded will all kinds of beautiful vegetables. The broth itself was soaked with the hearty juices of the roasted tomatoes, but wasn't too heavy. You could easily add in whatever vegetables you've just harvested from your garden, too. I had some leftover baked chicken breast in the fridge, so I just sliced it right up and threw it in. This soup already has wonderful leftovers, but if you wanted it to last even longer, adding more stock and a handful of short pasta would do the trick.

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Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb vine-on tomatoes, quartered
3 T EVOO
Salt and Pepper
1 lb cooked chicken breast, shredded or sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 yellow-fleshed potatoes, thinly sliced
32 oz/4 C chicken broth
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and halfed
1/3 C chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:
1.  Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons EVOO on top, season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer tomatoes and juices to a bowl to cool.
3. In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, season with salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the carrots, potatoes, and chicken broth and bring to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the green beans and tomatoes (with their tomato juices) to the soup pot. Partially cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
6. Stir in chicken and parsley, season with salt and pepper.

Recipe adapted from: Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, Issue 2009