Snow soup

I dunno what it is, but when it snows I crave soup. The way it warms you from the inside out is particularly appealing as the temperatures drop and the snow starts falling. Luckily for us, soup was already on the menu for dinner last night. Apparently my craving for soup is the equivalent of a bum knee or back acting up when it's rainy or when the seasons change. I have made chicken noddle and chicken and rice soup before, so we wanted something different. I, of course, hopped on Pinterest and searched for soup recipes. I found a bunch of great ones (more to follow, don't worry), but Chris has a soup place he sometimes orders from at work that has a chicken, lime, orzo soup that he loves, so when I came across the chicken lemon orzo soup I knew we had found the right choice!

Boiling the chicken

What you need:

1/2 cup orzo
Olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan)
1 1/2 carrots- chopped

1 1/2 celery- chopped

1/2 onion- chopped

1 clove garlic- minced

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1/2 bay leaf 

1 1/2 (32 ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken broth (48 oz total)

Prepping the veggies

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 lime- zested

1/4 pound cooked chicken breast- ripped (suggested amount, but I used 1 and a half chicken breasts)

Bullion cubes (2)- optional

Special equipment: 

Pot that can hold over 48 oz.

Grater

What you do:

1) Boil water with two bullion cubes in it, once boiled, add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until done.  I used thinly sliced chicken breast, so it only took 10 mins.

2) Boil water in a different pot with olive oil and salt.  When boiling, add 1/2 cup orzo. Cook for 6 minutes stirring occasionally. When done, strain and set aside.

3) Chop 1.5 carrots, 1.5 celery, 1/2 onion, and mince 1 clove garlic. 

4) Zest 1 whole lime (use the smallest grater setting and grate the skin off of the lime).

5) Juice the left over lime to make 1/4 cup lime juice and set aside.

6) In a large pot, coat the bottom in olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once oil is heated add chopped carrots, celery, and onion.  Cook for 7 mins. 

7) Add garlic and cook for another minute.

8) Add 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 oregano, 1 tsp salt (aprox.), 1/4 tsp pepper (aprox.), 1/2 bay leaf and mix for 30 seconds. 

9) Add 1.5 cartons of chicken broth and bring to boil.

10) When soup boils, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer partially covered for 10 minutes or until the veggies become tender.

11) Rip chicken into bit sized pieces. 

11) Add orzo, lime zest, lime juice, and chicken and cook for about 8 minutes. 

Getting close!

Boredom while waiting for the soup to be ready.

Yummy!