Isn’t it so much fun to create something that turns out really good from just things you already have in your house? This soup turned out to be a winner. I had half of a chicken breast left over and decided to try something different.
This made 4 bowls of soup.
1/2 large chicken breasts, cut into very small pieces
2 slices of bacon,cut into tiny pieces
Fry the chicken pieces with the bacon pieces (sprinkle garlic powder (about 1/2 teas) and oregano (about 1/4 teas) over the chicken as it cooks) in a small skillet until chicken is browned and almost done and bacon is crisp. Set aside.
In the crockpot, add the following:
1/2 chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped in small pieces (I like to use the inside of the celery stalk which has the leafy pieces as they add so much flavor)
2 carrots, sliced
1 ear of fresh corn, sliced off the cob
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 small russet potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 zucchini or mexican squash (I had mexican squash so I used that. Also, I cut out the very inside of the squash, as I like the outer portion with the skin as it doesn’t get squishy like the meat of the squash does when cooked for long periods of time)
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes with oregano and garlic (if you can’t find this, buy either just plain diced tomatoes or italian flavored diced tomatoes)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 envelope of McCormick Italian Spaghetti seasoning packet
If this is not enough liquid to cover the ingredients, add either another can of chicken broth or water until all ingredients are covered and there is plenty of juice
Add all ingredients to crockpot and then pour the meat mixture over the top. Stir and set temperature to low and about 6 hours, Check the veggies after about 4 hours and if still need to cook, I changed the setting to high for the last couple of hours. The soup was delicious. Served it with grilled french bread made with butter and garlic.
Years ago, in the 70’s, before I married, I had a roommate, Sheila Waterman. She was a teacher and I worked for the government. We spent lots of Friday nights, sitting in our apartment, wondering why all the guys were not flocking to our door, to take us out on dates. When we would get paid at the beginning of the month, we would go crazy buying all sorts of great food that would last us about a week or so. By the end of each month, we dined on vermicelli, boiled cabbage or mac & cheese. But the first of the month, oh boy, did we have some great meals. One of those great recipes that Sheila made were these chicken croquettes. We would sit and visit over this great meal and laugh at our feeble attempts at how we would try to get certain guys attentions and tell ourselves, “wow,if they could see how good we cooked, they would be lining up outside the door.” In reality, looking back, it was probably all the great meals that kept us both in one piece bathing suits, while the other girls who lived at the apartment complex were sitting out there flirting with the guys in their two piece cute little suits that wouldn’t cover a 3 yr old, much less a 20 year old. But…don’t feel sorry for us. After a year or so, we both met guys that ended up marrying us. Neither of our marriages lasted, but this recipe….it has lasted through the years.
This evening I was wanting to make something that I had never made before. We ended up with this really great Italian dinner. Even Peter Pumpkin sat there saying, “this is really good and I even like the asparagus”. Will wonders never cease. He is not a huge fan of mushrooms or asparagus and so for him to ask for seconds made me so proud. It was so easy and actually a great dish for serving company during the holidays. Plus…it was pretty. A dear friend of mine, Reny gave me this dish years ago and it is still one of my favorites to serve Italian food.
Chocolate Castles 