HAPPY SUNDAY and Happy Valentines Day! How was everyone's weekend?! Mine has been pretty good, I can't complain. Saturday was errand day. My son and I had a few things to do, so off we went. My son (17) and I are close, as is my daughter (20) and I. Sometimes, when we are driving, he is in his own world. He has his headset on and is usually either lost in his own music or some kind of sports cast/radio, which is fine. I get it. We do have different music tastes. However, yesterday, for whatever reason, even though he had his headset with him, he never put on his headset. We talked. It was so nice. So when I get those little moments, they are cherished beyond measure. I don't really know how I got here so fast with a 20 and a 17 year old. I can still see them as babies in my head.
Anyway, as I wipe the tears away, we went to the bank, out for a little bite to eat, and I had to run an errand downtown. Well, I completely forgot that he wanted to go to Walmart so he could get a little something for his girlfriend for Valentines day. He mentioned it when we were about 15 minutes from home and without even a second thought, I turned around and headed back towards Walmart! I think I was enjoying our time together so much that I just didn't want our day to end. So while I was there, I was able to get my ingredients for my soup I made last night and of course, I am going to share it with all of you!
This recipe is for a comforting chicken, orzo and ginger soup. This soup is always requested by my daughter when she is especially feeling a little under the weather and sometimes, just because she's in the mood for it. Although for last night, it was because she was feeling some sinus issues coming on, so this soup was her request.
This soup, very easy peasy and, if you're on a tight budget, this is very inexpensive to make as well. As I usually most always do, the recipe has been doubled. But here is the original:
Chicken Orzo and Ginger Soup
adapted from: La Fuji Mama
9 c. chicken stock
2 oz. (about 2 Tbsp.) grated ginger (or more if you’re like me!)
1 oz. (about 1 Tbsp.) minced garlic
8 oz. orzo pasta
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
7-8 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
4-6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 oz. (about 2 Tbsp.) grated ginger (or more if you’re like me!)
1 oz. (about 1 Tbsp.) minced garlic
8 oz. orzo pasta
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
7-8 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
4-6 green onions, thinly sliced
1. Place chicken stock, ginger, and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add orzo and cook as per package directions (10-12 minutes) or until al dente.
3. Add chicken and cook for an additional minute, or until the chicken is warmed through.
4. Take off heat and stir in cilantro and green onions.
Now of course, if you have been reading my recipes, you know I always have to play around to suit it to my tastes. So my suggestion to you is, if you love garlic and ginger, have at it and add as much as you like, or stick to the basic recipe to try it, and play around with the flavors later. Please keep in mind that these pictures depict the double amount for a doubled recipe.
Garlic! I LOVE IT!!! Can you tell?! The recipe calls for 1 Tbsp, and ummm, well this is a lot more than that. I used heaping tablespoons, and I want to say probably about 6 of them. I used the minced garlic in a jar because it's just easier. Plus, I don't know, I can never find really big cloves of garlic. I always get little puny ones, which are fine to add a little flavor to some chicken or what not, but for a soup like this that I like to use a lot of, I go for the jar!
This is ginger root. I am sure I can get this in a jar somewhere, but personally, I find great joy in peeling it and grating it. Ginger has such a fresh, almost citrus like aroma that I find very therapeutic. What could be better than natural aromatherapy?
This is the fresh ginger all grated and smelling simply fresh and fragrant. As you can see, it's definitely more than what is called for in the recipe. Not only did I grate what was in the picture above, but a little extra. You do need to be somewhat careful with the ginger as too much can make the soup a touch bitter if you don't have a good ginger to liquid ratio. That's from my personal experience.
Once the ginger and garlic have met in the pot, pour in your chicken broth. I should have used 18 cups, but I only had 16 cups because I bought 4-32oz boxes of chicken broth and didn't think about 5th box.* Once that chicken broth, garlic and ginger start to boil, the house will begin to smell amazing as the ginger releases is tempting aroma.
Once it's boiling, add in your orzo pasta and cook til just about al dente. **Keep in mind that the orzo will keep absorbing the liquid, so you might want to keep an extra can/box of chicken broth on hand for left overs,
This is a rotisserie chicken that I bought, just to keep things easy. There is no rule saying what kind of cooked chicken you have to use. So if you want to cook up some chicken thighs, or breasts (although I believe chicken thighs would be cheaper and give you some better flavor), feel free to do so. You can probably even just boil the chicken, and use that homemade broth for this soup and then just add in some regular chicken broth as well. It would all work well, I'm sure.
While my orzo is cooking, I chop up my rotisserie chicken and get ready to add it in to the soup once the orzo is done.
The recipe calls for some green onion, Again, I used what I wanted for my own personal taste. The same with the cilantro. I am a cilantro fiend!! LOVE IT!! So this is just some rinsed cilantro that I have here, but I didn't use all of that.
Sliced green onion and my chopped cilantro all ready to go here.
Once the orzo is al dente, add in your chopped or shredded chicken and heat it through for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and then stir in your green onion and chopped cilantro.
As for the rest of the weekend, so far my Sunday has been very nice. It's cold, but we have a beautiful, gorgeous sunny day filled with clear skies. I took my daughter to work this morning at 6 am, it was -21 degrees according to my car thermometer. But the great laughs my daughter and I shared at such an early time in the morning warmed the car right up!
As for Valentines day plans, I have none. My daughter and her boyfriend are going out to dinner. My son works and then his girlfriend is coming over later for the evening and that will be about it. It's going to be a very quiet evening of just keeping warm and cozy with the cats! LOL
Happy Valentines day everyone. I hope your weekend was a beautiful one, but if not, and you're going through some rough times, sit down and take a moment. Just breathe and think about all the good that's in your life. Find the positives, the good moments you've had over the weekend, I am sure you have had something good happen. Think back and find them, hold on to those and remember tomorrow is a new day. So cherish the good moments, and embrace the positivity.
Valentines Day Images: http://www.thecourierdaily.com/happy-valentines-day-2016-quotes-wishes-images-pictures-latest-collection-gift-ideas-cards-love/10393/
All soup prep images were taken by me.
