Broccoli, lentil, and chicken soup

Yup, it's the day before grocery shopping, aka creative soup making. Today there were 6 leftover roasted chicken legs, a bag of frozen broccoli (purchased for days like this) and the usual soup ingredients. Broccoli and lentil  end up being a drab looking soup but the addition of Hungarian paprika and lemon zest gives it a nicer color and a bright flavor. 

Here's what you need:

3 onions diced

4 celery stalks diced

3 carrots diced

1 lb chopped frozen broccoli 

1 cup red lentils

2-3 cups cooked chicken cut up

8 cups chicken stock

1 lemon zested

1 TBS good paprika

1 tsp dried rosemary 

Salt, pepper, garlic powder 

 Start by cooking your mire poix in a small amount of oil. 

Once that cooks down a bit, throw in the broccoli and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sauté for 5 minutes. 

Add lentils, broth and chicken. 

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes 

Or until it looks like this:

Next, season with the paprika, lemon  zest and rosemary. I argued with myself about adding lemon juice and decided against it, the zest adds a nice subtle lemon taste and my taste buds like lemon more than most people's. 

Try it, it's a nice, healthy chicken soup variation. 

I almost forgot crafty news! 

I managed to crochet this wool beanie this week. 

I just love this seed stitch, it almost looks woven.