Italian Chicken Soup

The Pioneer Woman posted Italian chicken soup the other day and it sounded good... so here's my twist on her Italian chicken soup.

First, I have to brag on myself for getting a whole chicken, already cut up at Wal-Mart for just over $3! I was pretty excited about that.

So first thing's first, drop your chicken in a big pot, I almost always use my enamel coated dutch oven for soups. Cover it with the chicken stock and cook at a low boil for 30 minutes. Then turn the stove off, pop the lid on and let sit for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile chop your onion and peppers. Remove the chicken from the pot when it's finished, let cool. Pour the chicken stock in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the empty dutch oven, saute onion and peppers until translucent. Pour the stock back in the pot. Scrape up any brown bits from bottom of the pot. Turn the stove to low or medium-low. It doesn't need to bubble.

Shred the chicken, when I say this I mean remove the skin, bones and pull the chicken apart. I like to do it with my hands to make sure there is absolutely no way a bone is getting in my soup.
Sprinkle a nice amount of salt, pepper and a little garlic powder to the chicken, toss it, then drop it in the pot. I always season meat. I think it carries the flavor into the soup, no one likes bland chicken!

Cook your pasta until it's al dente (meaning the lowest time the box says to cook it). You still want it to have a bite, especially if it's in a soup and you'll be re-heating it several times. Make sure and throw a handful of salt into the water when it's boiling. This is the only time pasta will soak up flavor. Drain after cooked.

Meanwhile, remove the leaves from your oregano, give it a rough chop, or don't...whatever you prefer, saute it in a skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper the oregano. Dump in your pot.

Take a damp paper towel, wipe off the portabello mushrooms (don't rinse them under water), chop them into chunks, not tiny pieces because they shrink a lot. Saute them in a skillet with a little olive oil until they are soft. I like to turn the heat up a little on these and get the edges brown. That way they carry some texture into the soup as well. Salt and pepper the mushrooms when they are almost done. You don't want to ever salt mushrooms you are sauteing until they are almost done. Salt makes them rubbery if you use it too soon in the cooking process. Drop the mushrooms in the pot.

Dump the pasta, tomatoes and cream into the pot. Let simmer for just a few minutes, while stirring. Taste it and make sure it's full of flavor... if it needs a little more, add salt and/or pepper. You don't want to have to salt your soup when you make a bowl.

Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top of your bowl of soup.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

■ 1 box Ditalini Pasta (very Short Macaroni-type Pasta Noodles)
■ Olive Oil (eyeball it when sauteing)
■ 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
■ 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
■ 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
■ 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced
■ 2 whole Fresh Jalapenos, Diced
■ 2 to 3 Whole Portabello Mushrooms
■ 1 can (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes (or crushed)
■ 2 cups Heavy Cream
■ 4 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano
■ Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
■ Parmesan Cheese Shavings, For Serving