Andrea's Chicken Soup

Chicken Breast, no skin, 8 breast, bone and skin removed
Barley, pearled, raw, 1 cup
Brown Rice, medium grain, 3 cup
Beans, white, 1.5 cup
escarole, 12 cup (about 1 head)
Herbox sodium free instant broth & seasoning, 12 serving
Broth, chicken: College Inn, Light & Fat Free, 50% less Sodium, Chicken Broth, 1 cup/serv, 8 serving
Raw Carrotts, 4 cup
Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped
Celery, raw, 2 cup, diced
Water, about 30 cups (12 for broth packets, 18 to poach the chicken)

If the soup becomes too thick you can add a little more broth.

The escarole will wilt down to almost nothing by the time it cooks. It was also take on a dark green color similar to cooked spinach.

I like to add some fresh lemon before serving, it goes really well and gives the soup a very bright and fresh flavor.

Any type of chicken broth/stock can be used. I try to use options that are low salt but still have good flavor. If you like something else just swap it out.

Poach chicken in a large stockpot of water (you can add celery, onion, and a couple of carrots to give the broth some flavor). While chicken is cooking chop all vegetables including escarole. In another pot Mix sodium free broth packets with 12 cups of water. I also add 1 large can of Light College Inn Broth.

When chicken is cooked shred using a fork and knife. Take remaining liquid and boil down to concentrate the flavor. I will add about 10 cups of this to the broth that I purchased.

Add chopped vegetables and shredded chicken to broth and let cook on medium-high for about an hour until vegetable are fork tender. Add Beans, rice, and barley to soup. Allow this to cook about another hour.

If you add the rice, barley, and beans when you add the vegetables you end up with mushy grains.

This makes for a great meal becuase it has lots of veggies, lean protein, and whole grains!

Serving Size: Makes about 12 2-cup bowls (aprox)

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHUNKYMONKEY36.