Chicken Minestrone Soup

When my husband was off of work last month, I  found myself cooking a lot.  If you saw my last post on Chicken/Veggie Stock you know I make large quantities of food. Meals that will last 3 days meal or I can freeze for later dates. I do this so I can spend more time with my husband and children. I am very careful about what I feed my family, so when I cook it's from scratch.

So this week I made Chicken Minestrone Soup. This pot of soup will last my family for about 4-5 dinners, or I can freeze half for a later date. This soup like most I make is almost 100% organic.

Each night you can try new things with your soup, here are some of our favorites.

• Sour cream and Homemade Croutons
• Cheese of your choice, We enjoy Parmesan or Extra sharp Cheddar
• Homemade rolls, and Jalapenos
• Crackers and salad
• Serve it with a fruit salad

You could also add what every meat you want to this soup. Over lent you can make this without meat and add Spinach, and eggplant.

Here is my Chicken Minestrone Soup Recipe, Organic and full of flavor.

You will need

A Large stockpot is needed- 16-20 quarts. (We have a 32 quart stockpot NSF certified, we found at a wine/beer making shop.)

1 Head of Garlic minced (or you can buy the organic garlic in the jar done for you),

2 onions chopped

1 full stalk of Celery, end cut off and please leave the tops on. 

32 oz of Kidney Beans (we soak our own because, it is better for you and cheaper)

32 oz of Black beans, Pinto Beans, and Garbanzo beans (again we soak our own, these are made up ahead of time and then we freeze them.

3 cans of diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce

1/3 cup Fresh Parsley, Thyme, and a little cilantro

24 cups of broth and water (the more broth the better) add more if needed.

¼ cup of salt and black pepper

2 ¼ cup of Barley (not the quick kind)

1 cup of lentils

½ cup Pasta sprinkle of Italian seasoning (optional)

1 or 2 Natural Garden Veggie bouillon cubes (optional if not using homemade broth, or more water then broth)

5 cups of chicken or you can add Venison, ground beef, or even pork  for a different taste.

If you like noodles you can add these in your bowls separately

You will add everything to your pot except the chicken. If using ground venison, ground beef  or pork cook before hand and leave it in the pot.  

 If using chicken then you will add this later when you start to simmer your minestrone.

Bring your minestrone to a boil, add your chicken and then simmer for about 2 hours.

This soup becomes thick very quickly because of the starch in the Barley. You may need to add a little water when serving on extra nights.

I will be adding my cost for this meal in the next couple of days.

Please visit Janelle to link up with others who are comfy in the kitchen