Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Last night I made the Lemon Pepper Chicken, which was good, but as usual I have leftover chicken and since it was cooked in a lemon and chicken broth sauce I decided to make Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. I didn’t know Panera Bread made it, did you? Serves 6-8 Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

2 cooked chicken breasts, cut up into bite size pieces or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
2 lemons ..1/2 cut in slices, 1 1/2 lemon squeezed to make 1/4 cup juice, but after you zest 1 of the lemons
8 oz chicken broth + more if too thick
4 cups of baby spinach, chopped (optional)
2 cups Orzo, cooked
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook Orzo according to package instructions (at least 10 minutes in a pot of boiling water). If your chicken isn’t cooked, then sauté on med/high heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and no longer pink inside. Let cool. Then cut into bite size pieces or shred using two forks to pull apart.

In a Dutch Oven on med/high heat add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, when hot add in the carrots, onions and celery and cook until tender. While that is cooking zest, squeeze and slice your lemons. When vegetables are tender turn the heat down to low and add in the chicken broth, zest, lemon juice, chicken pieces, salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. The last 5 minutes add in the spinach (if using). After the 45 minutes add in the cooked Orzo and cook an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with the lemon slices and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Yum Yum!

You need a Dutch Oven or soup pot with lid to make this recipe