Tara Riddle: Lemon chicken orzo soup (recipe)

Happy fall, my friends! And Happy Nevada Day (soon to be anyway). I get energized by autumn’s crisp air. But, I have found myself longing for a dreary and drizzly day. I love those days that make me feel like I am allowed to wear sweatpants all day long. The smell of simmering soup is in the air while I binge watch some new show on Netflix, snuggled under a blanket with my dog. That’s living, folks.

A couple of weeks ago we experienced that rainy day and I was so excited. Luckily, I happened to have everything I needed to whip together a hearty chicken and orzo soup, all because of a fluke accident.

Last month, Amazon delivered one of my packages with items I had not ordered in it. Those items were four boxes of chicken stock and a six-pack of French onion dip seasoning. Initially, I was upset. But on this rainy day, I had to smile and be a bit grateful for that accident. I did not have to go to the store for any missing ingredients simply because someone swapped out my Amazon order. God works in mysterious ways. LOL.

This soup was inspired by blessings in disguise and Amazon delivery mistakes. I hope you enjoy it. This is definitely a “use what you have” type of soup. So feel free to alter any of the veggies with what you happen to have in the fridge when your inspiration to make soup hits you.

I use a cast iron Dutch oven to make my soups. You can also use a crockpot.

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs

2 stalks celery

½ onion

2 large carrots

2 cups chopped spinach

1.5 orzo

Pad of butter

¼ cup cream

Juice of one lemon

1 cup white wine or beer

1 package French onion dip seasoning.

Let's start by dicing up our celery, onion, and carrot. Toss that in your crockpot or Dutch oven. Next season up your chicken thighs with garlic, pepper, salt, and French onion dip seasoning. Place seasoned chicken on top of your veggies. Add your white wine. Let simmer on high in a crockpot for 2 hours, or bake at 300 degrees in the oven for 60 minutes, or until chicken will easily pull apart with a fork.

After the chicken cooks tender enough to shred, use two forks to pull the meat apart and shred it. Then add 8 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth. Squeeze in your lemon juice. Place back in the oven and let it simmer. Now we can cook our Greek orzo. Boil four quarts of water and add 1.5-2 cups orzo. Boil per instructions on the box. When the orzo is finished pour into a colander to strain the water out. Stir in a little pad of butter.

Add the cooked orzo, fresh spinach, and the heavy cream to your soup pot. Let simmer on very low heat. Then serve with a fluffy roll or some cheese and crackers! Either works for me! I hope you guys enjoy this recipe and that it helps you remember to always make lemonade out of the lemons that life throws your way.

Namaste.

Tara Riddle is a real estate agent and property manager at Charles Kitchen Realty. She also works at the Farmer’s Market in Carson City or Black Rock Bison. Reach her at 

TRiddle@CharlesKitchen.com