Chicken and Couscous Soup

 

Last year we didn't need to shovel our walkway at all - there was simply almost zero snow to deal with. This year, however, mother nature has already unleashed her wrath here in the valley. We busted out the shovels and quickly went to work on the 10 inches of snow on our walkway/driveway. The manchild insisted on helping, and it looked kind of like a scene from The Christmas Story getting him ready to go outside. He also forgot there were stairs down from our front porch (covered by snow) to the sidewalk. His first steps in the deep snow quickly tumbled into an epic face plant in the bushes. Yep, definitely my spawn. 

Needless to say, cozy & warm soup was a must. This soup (as many are) was incredibly easy and simple. I found myself searching over and over again through the ingredients thinking this is really all that's in there? Yep, it's true. Next time we're going to throw in a few veggies. But serving this along side a veggie-loaded salad was fine by me this weekend.

Plus, couscous is way too much fun to ignore! We usually buy the Near East packaged couscous (not because it's 100% natural couscous... we really couldn't care less either way) to serve with dinner. It always tastes light and fluffy. While making the soup, I threw the parmesan seasoning right in with the creamy broth - it added some much-needed saltiness, and really helped it along. I also lowered the amount of lemon. Juice from 2 lemons seemed a little crazy-face.

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Chicken and Couscous Soup 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, patted dry  

salt and pepper

EVOO

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

4 C chicken broth (32 oz container) - don't use low-sodium for this one. trust me.

1/2 C couscous  (Near East couscous w/parmesan seasoning packet is what we used.)

grated peel and juice of 1 lemon

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 C chopped parsley

Method:

1. In your soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with plenty of salt and pepper. Working in batches, add to the pot and cook, turning once, about 5 minutes . Transfer to a plate (I know they may not be cooked all the way. Hang tight). 

2. A garlic to pot and cook, scraping up browned bits, until lightly golden - about 5 minutes (don't burn garlic). Add the chicken broth, 2 cups of water and chicken (still in whole) to pot. Simmer. Transfer chicken again back to plate. 

3. Add couscous and lemon peel to pot (not the lemon juice yet). Lower heat to mediu mlow and simmer for 5 minutes. Shred chicken and return to the soup. 

4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice. Slowly whisk 1 cup of the hot soup into the egg mixture (very slowly), then stir the egg mixture into the soup (the soup will thicken immediately). Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Adapted From: Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, November 2012 Issue