Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Active Time: 30 minutes / Cook Time: 50 minutes / Total Time: 60 minutes

Makes 8 servings (2 for dinner, 4 for lunches, and 2 for the freezer)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 cups carrots, thinly sliced (from about 6-8 large)
1 ½ cups celery, thinly sliced (from about 6 stalks)
1 ½ cups yellow onion, diced (from about 1 large)
2 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
2 ½ teaspoons Fines Herbes, divided*
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, divided
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
10 oz. baby spinach, kale, Swiss Chard, or a mix

*Fines Herbes are a blend of dried herbs commonly used in French cooking. The blend usually contains parsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon. If you don’t want to buy a jar of the blend, feel free to use a mix of one or two of the above.

Directions:

Add oil to a large saucepan, stockpot, or Dutch oven and heat to medium. Add carrots, celery, onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes.
Add 1 ¼ teaspoons Fines Herbes, dried thyme, and bay leaves to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, remaining Fines Herbes, and 1 tablespoon parsley to the broth, return to a simmer, and cook 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. (If the soup is looking more like a stew, add 2 cups water when you add the chicken.)
Add the spinach to the soup and cook just until wilted, about 4 minutes.
Taste the soup for seasoning; if needed, add the final ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.
Serve 2 cups soup per person for dinner tonight, and portion remaining soup into airtight containers: 4 (2 cup) servings for lunches next week and 2 (2 cup) servings for the freezer, to use on a day when you could use “fast food” and/or a little comfort in a bowl