Fresh Herb & Chicken Soup

Sometimes the sweetest and most refreshing gifts come in the form of good food and time together.

Cam is spending this upcoming weekend with three other guys in below zero temps climbing Mt. Whitney, which is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States! Ahn and her girls are coming today and then we're heading out of town together with our babies. So Cam and I had a stay-at-home date this past Saturday night after we put John Shea to bed. He cooked! And not only did he cook for me, but he made an amazing meal! He made a roasted butternut squash sauce from scratch to go over four cheese ravioli and a green salad with all of my favorites in it: strawberries, blackberries, goat cheese, good croutons and nuts. It was absolutely incredible and he's promised to make it again soon so I can take photos and write down his recipe to share.

We eat together as a family every night but it's really special (and fun!) getting to have alone time with just my husband and so important and refreshing to refocus on each other. I adore him!

I made my Spicy Chorizo Vegetable Soup over the weekend too and when it ran out, which is always a sad day, Cam asked for more. The same soup, a new soup, it didn't matter, just more tasty soup please! And so this Fresh Herb & Chicken Soup was created, based off my Spicy Chorizo, but more calm. It's loaded with fresh herbs and vegetables, incredible with a good crusty bread alongside it for dipping, and like any good soup or meal does, feeds your soul as much as your belly.

Fresh Herb & Chicken Soup

1 quart organic chicken stock
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-4 large carrots, chopped
4 bell peppers, chopped
1 bunch of celery, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes juice
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans cannellini / white beans, rinsed
red wine {about 1/2 cup}
1 rotisserie chicken or about 1 lb cooked chicken, shredded
EVOO
1/2 pint heavy cream
about 1 C chopped fresh cilantro (parsley is also a nice substitution!)
about 1 C chopped fresh green scallions
about 4 TBS chopped fresh oregano or 2 TBS dried
about 1 TBS red chili powder
fine sea salt

The beautiful thing about this soup is it doesn't take long to make and makes enough to last for a few days. For Cam and I, it will usually give us three dinners and two lunches. If you're cooking for more people, consider doubling the recipe so you can have more free nights! :)

In a large pot, on medium heat, drizzle enough EVOO to cover the bottom and saute the onion until soft and translucent, about a minute or two. Add in all of the veggies and add a few generous glugs of EVOO with them along with a generous pinch of salt. Stir and saute for about 15 minutes or until the veggies become tender.

Add the tomatoes juice, rinsed beans, wine, chicken stock, chicken and red chili powder. {I prefer not to use low-sodium chicken broth for soup - it loses a lot of flavor!} Bring to a boil. Simmer for atleast half an hour, though the longer the better! In a saute pan, combine about 1/2 - 1 C of EVOO with all of the chopped herbs and allow the flavors to marry for a few minutes on low heat while you stir so they don't burn. Pour in the wonderful herb olive oil concoction to the soup along with the cream, simmer just a bit longer and taste; add in as much salt as needed to bring out the flavor! Serve with crusty bread and shaved parmesan on top.