Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Ingredients

a medium to large soup pan

one small to medium onion, diced

olive oil

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of cooked chicken, or a cup of cooked chicken, diced (there are cans that look like tuna cans, either get two or buy the big one)

zest of one lemon

juice of one to two lemons

pepper to taste

lots of fresh minced parsley: in the soup or as a garnish, or both

Better than Bouillon, Chicken, 1 teaspoon, if desired

3 cups water plus more as you go

1 cup orzo (pasta that looks like rice)

greens, chopped…like boy choy leaves, escarole, spinach, one bunch kale…as you like them

optional: 2 tablespoons butter and 2 fresh eggs, scrambled before you put them in the soup

Instructions

Put the oil in the pan, add the onion, on med to med high heat, and stir onion until transparent.

Add the greens, stir to wilt, then add water and pepper.

Add the chicken and the cream of chicken soup. Fill the soup can with water and stir it around to get the rest of the soup in the can, then throw it into the pan. Rinse the chicken can with water, similarly, and add it. Toss in the rest of the ingredients, except eggs and butter. Mix completely.

Cover, simmer for 25 minutes, or until orzo is tender.

If you want to make the soup extra fancy, put the butter in before serving, then stir in the scrambled eggs. Stir until they are cooked through. The soup is ready to eat. Garnish with parsley if you want.

What feeds your soul? It’s not always food, is it? Feeding and serving others, reading, cuddling, walking, journaling…

Each one is a gift of joy; sometimes in giving, sometimes in receiving.

My motto has always been, “We aim to feed.” I was raised in an Italian-American home, but really, we never thought of ourselves as anything but Italian. Nobody left our home hungry.

When my kids were younger, the easiest thing to throw together for a quick meal was soup. We had a ready supply of vegetables. Anything could be started by sautéing an onion and stirring in whatever was handy. We were always out the door for ballet, religion, sports, and concerts.

After the girls and my son went off to college, there were a lot of comings and goings from the airport. Instead of trying to rush in a meal around the day of good-byes, we would stop at a restaurant near the airport. My favorite was a Theo and Stacy’s, where the food was homey. It was easy to snuggle into a booth with the kids, order something warm, and talk about the angels I asked to ride along with them on their planes home.

Of course, the girls are vegans now, but in those days, I could get at least one of them to eat something chicken. That’s when I discovered Greek Lemon Chicken Soup.

Let no one leave your presence without providing for them that which feeds their soul and their tummy.Makes about 6 servings