Nothing Says Winter Like A Bowl Of Soup

 I love soup, especially hot, steaming soup, in winter.  Right before New Year's I went on a two day cooking spree.  I made several dinners for the future, froze most everything.  One of the things I made that I did not freeze, was a pot of chicken minestrone soup.  It's just like minestrone, but with shredded chicken instead of beef.  (Still watching my WW points).  

I went to Costco, bought a roasted chicken, which soon became green chile verde chicken enchiladas, chicken salad, a little bit of scraps for Pepper, and a big pot of Chicken Minestrone.  Here's how I made it.

                                                   Chicken Minestrone Soup

5 cups chicken broth (Winco has 32 oz. cartons for 99cents)

2 cups shredded chicken

1 bunch kale

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can chick peas

2 carrots, cut in rounds

10 ounces of canned diced tomatoes

1sliced zucchini

1/4 cup uncooked orzo (or other small pasta)

Parmesean cheese for topping, optional

Parmesean cheese rind (if you have it)

                          Chicken Minestrone Soup

Brown onions and garlic for 5 minutes.  Add all ingredients except chicken (and parmesean) and cook until veggies are tender.  Add shredded chicken and cook for 10 minutes.  If you have a piece of parmesean cheese rind, throw it in the pot.  It will add a little salty taste to the soup.  

To serve, heat well and add fresh parmesean to the top.  Be sure to remove the parmesean rind before serving.  I think this will be come a winter time favorite for you, as it is for me.