Let's Talk About Soup: Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and Rose Byrne's Jumpsuit

I indulged a whole lot these past few days (filets, rib roast, venison, cheeses, brownies, good wine, good beer, loaded baked potatoes....) so needless to say, on Sunday, I was seriously craving  a good bowl of soup. I have never made Greek Chicken Lemon soup before, but I was inspired by the bright lemons sitting on my counter top, and the wonderful sunshine on this brisk day (Speaking of the weather. What. The. Hell. These mid-60 degree days we have had the majority of January is not my favorite. I have sweaters to wear. Really nice ones.)

So I googled Greek Chicken Lemon soup and found lots of recipes for Greek Avgolemono soup, which is delicious, but also has a lot of eggs, and that is not what I intended.

Finally found one from my good friend Giada de Laurentiis: Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti, courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.com/

I did make some modifications (mine are in red below) , but here is the basic recipe:

• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) I used 2 1/2, and zested the skin of one lemon.
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan Cheese rind, optional. This is not optional. this is mandatory. Use it in all soups. It adds.....something I can't quite put my finger on, but use it.
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces, *see Cook's Note I used Orzo, about 3/4 cup. It will "grow" in the broth, so you don't need a ton.
• 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat . I pan seared about 8 chicken tenders, and then roughly diced them.
• 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese.
• Kosher Salt
• One teaspoon of dried thyme.
• One shallot
• One can of diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained.

Directions:

Pan-sear chicken tenders in stock pot until cooked through, remove to a platter. Add sliced shallot and olive oil and "deglaze" pan. The proceed with rest of recipe.
In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes.
Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Here are a few pictures:

It was delicious and very simple! Boyfirend loved it.  It took about 30 minutes, including cooking the chicken, and a bit of slicing, dicing, and juicing! Plenty of time to get some work done and by work I mean watching the  E! network Red Carpet pre-show of the Screen Actor's Guild Awards. I am totally digging Rose Byrne's Elie Saab jumpsuit. She looks effing awesome. 

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And a shout out to fellow Auburn Alum Octavia Spencer from "The Help"! War Eagle honey!