Drumming to the Beet Chicken Soup

“Throw it in the pot” is one of my favorite ways to cook, that is why I lay claim to this day, you just throw whatever in the pot add tons of spices that you think will make for a tasty treat and whammo you have a masterpiece just waiting to be eaten. No measuring (yahoo) a basic no fuss way to cook….unless you have my daughter Melissa living with you. She is such a stickler for measuring and writing stuff out, “Mom, how do you re-make this if you don’t measure things out or write it down?” In the first place what makes her think I want to make it again the same way and in the second place it rains on my “creativity” OF COURSE I don’t say these things out loud I may be dumb but I ain’t stupid. This does lead to some pretty good in my head conversations and retorts like “didn’t your momma ever teach you that it isn’t polite to correct your momma” or “you can’t imagine what I’ve been doing behind your back” snicker…snicker, just kidding Melissa (Not).

 To be honest, she does have a point about writing down recipes and yes, doing the measuring thing how else would I be able to give you great recipes from the land of Leona.  So here is my latest throw it in the pot soup for an army. To scale down cut everything by half.

Drum to the Beet of Chicken and Veggie Soup

I say, “Start small end BIG!”  Melissa will say, “She isn’t kidding!”

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breast (thighs are OK too but use 6 cause they are smaller)-leave whole

1 fresh raw beet-peeled and diced up – we got this from our bountiful basket

4 medium sized potatoes diced up

2 carrots peeled and diced up

1 gallon of water to start but will need more

1 carton chicken broth – I use the low sodium 98% fat free kind

1 large onion diced

1 bunch of celery- I use only the leaves and the little white stalks from the inside (these are the parts that usually get thrown away and I think are the most tastiest in soup) chopped up

2 cups each: frozen corn and peas  

1 large can of diced tomatoes juice and all

Salt to taste- some like more, some like less

Pepper to taste-some like more of a kick, some like less

Now for the seasonings, I use a variety from Mrs Dash, McCormick’s Perfect Pinch, McCormick’s Gourmet Collection and the good old Walmart brand 5^th Season. I like to cover my bases with flavor and believe it or not these are staples in our house. If you don’t have any of these, just use what you have that is close to how you want it to taste.

Mrs Dash Salt Free seasonings: 2 Tablespoons each

Chicken chilling blends

Italian Medley

Tomato basil garlic

McCormick’s Perfect Pinch No MSG: 2 Tablespoons each

Savory All-Purpose

Tuscan

Original Chicken

McCormick’s Gourmet Collection: 1 Tablespoon each

Moroccan Seasoning (not only does it taste good, it smells good too!)

Smoky Paprika- (optional)

Walmart brand 5^th Season: 1 Teaspoon each

Garlic Powder- can use fresh or minced garlic instead, I’ve used all three in the same meal but at different cooking stages

Onion Powder- to help give it more flavor but you can leave it out

UTENSILS THAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 large (huge) soup pot- she ain’t kidding

Can opener- I say this as a reminder to us cause we keep losing ours…no lie

Your favorite cutting knife- I have one doesn’t everybody…lol

Cutting board

And a good spoon for stirring – and for smacking smart alecks with…he he he

NOW FOR THE ASSEMBLY (I know that you are all thinking verbally OK Leona get on with it no wonder you drive Melissa crazy! I say it is a short trip some days….OK, OK I digress)

Put your pot on the burner on MED. Add a small amount of chicken broth to the bottom of pot. You are going to be “frying” the onion and celery in this for two minutes stirring frequently.

Add the chicken a to the pot- “fry” for about 5 minutes turning often (add more liquid to keep from scorching). This kinda gives the chicken a browning bedsides leaving some goodness in the bottom of the pot.

Add all the seasoning to the pot giving it a good stir –it should smell good

Add the carrots and rest of the chicken broth plus some water to fill the pot 2/3rds full- let this simmer until chicken is done. Remove chicken so it can cool down.

Add the can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), the diced beet and potatoes to the pot. The level should be at least 2/3rds full. Let this simmer until potatoes are almost done.

While the potatoes are simmering, cut or tear up the chicken. This also would be a good time to do a taste test to see if you need to add more seasoning to the pot.

Add the chicken and frozen veggies to the pot and let simmer until the frozen veggies are done.

There you have it, a delicious tasting and very visual appealing chunky soup. We paired this with a savory bread and a glass of wine (oops the wine part was on my do to next time list).

Suggestions:

You can add more veggies like leafy green ones, leave out the meat, change the meat choice, use tomato juice instead of water or broth but not both….this is the type of soup that is so easy to modify I say go for it and let us know what you think , changed or to just share ideas…..we’re game.