Homemade Chicken Veggie Soup

It is that time of the year.  The leaves are changing colors, there’s a chill in the air, brunch outside is no longer an option, the tree at Rockefeller Center is up (but not yet lit), and people are beginning to sneeze on the subway and in the office.  I love soup in general, but in the fall and winter months, I eat it constantly.  It keeps you warm and helps cure the common cold.

I have found that making my own soup is much more delicious and satisfying than anything you can get in a can, in a store, or even in a restaurant.  You can cater the soup to your own taste; making it as spicy as you prefer and adding almost any kind of vegetable.  The below recipe is one that I have come up with and love.  The best part is that you can make a large amount at once and save it for later.  You can even freeze the soup and get a chance to taste the goodness weeks later.  Here we go!

Ingredients:

• Three yellow onions
• Four habanero peppers
• Two serrano peppers
• Five carrots
• One package of shiitake mushrooms
• Half a package of white mushrooms
• One piece of ginger
• One package of kale
• Four chicken breasts
• Bay leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Oregano
• Wine
• Two packages of chicken broth (32 oz)
• Chicken bouillon

Begin by preparing the chicken.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Place chicken breasts in a baking pan and season how you wish.  I like to bake my chicken in a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and oregano.  Bake the chicken until almost done then take out of the oven and let it rest.

In a large pot, begin by sautéing the onions, peppers, and ginger (finely chopped) in a little bit of olive oil with salt and pepper. 

Once they begin to become soft, add the carrots and once the carrots have softened a little bit, add the mushrooms. 

As the vegetables are sautéing, add some wine (red or white, whatever you have on hand).  Once the vegetables are close to being cooked, add bay leaves and cayenne pepper for an extra kick.  Then you may pour in the two packages of chicken broth and the chicken bouillon.

Let your soup simmer and cover with a lid.  In the meantime, cut the chicken breasts up into small pieces.  Add the kale to the soup and let it continue to cook. 

Taste your mixture and add spices and wine to taste. 

Once you are satisfied with your soup, add the chicken and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.  Voila!  You are done.

If you want to make your soup more of a meal, add some noodles or wild rice, how
ever, with the amount of vegetables included in this recipe, you probably do not need it.

Enjoy your soup and look forward to several portions of yummy leftovers!