SPECIAL NOTE: This makes a SLEW of STEW! But, it’s a wonderful kick-off to your Super Bowl party. I also like to share the love. Send storage-bags-full home with guests. It’s a great reheater for an easy work-night supper. Yes, it’s a vat-full of soup; but, it’ll get ‘gone’ before you can blink.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion (like Vidalia, y’all)
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh thyme (or 8 teaspoons dried thyme leaves)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1-to-2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder (increase at your own risk)
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 3 quarts fat-free and low-sodium chicken broth*
- 1 cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 4 cups ‘chunked’ baby carrots (each baby carrot cut into thirds)
- 2 cups chopped cilantro
- 2 (7.76-ounce) cans salsa verde
- 3 cups cooked and loosely pulled-apart chicken breast*
- 3 cups cooked and loosely pulled-apart chicken thighs*
- 4 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas/garbanzo beans, undrained
- 4 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
Preparation:
- Heat oil in a LARGE (12-quart) stock pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme, paprika, chipotle chile powder, ground cloves and black pepper to the pot. Saute 4-to-5 minutes, stirring often (so herbs and spices don’t scorch), until onions are lightly browned.
- Add broth, lime juice, sea salt, barley, carrots, cilantro and salsa verde to the stock pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer a total of 50 minutes.
- Stir in cooked chicken, chickpeas and tomatoes. Cover and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes more. Adjust seasonings (with the exception of salt, unless you are decreasing it) to taste.
Numbers you need to know:
This recipe yields approximately 9 quarts or 36 one-cup servings. Per serving nutrition analysis is, as follows: 134 Calories; 2g Fat; 10g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 17mg Cholesterol; 174mg Sodium.
Nita’s notes:
You can use leftover home-cooked chicken for this recipe. Or you can buy a couple of grocery rotisserie-style roasted chickens to use for the meat; BUT, beware the sodium level of what you get already-prepared from the grocery. Since this recipe calls for both cooked chicken and chicken broth/stock, I like to kill the 2 proverbial birds (chickens) with one stone—I cook the chicken and make broth all in one fell swoop.
So here’s the chicken and broth recipe within the recipe:
Place 3 pounds each of skinless, bone-in chicken breasts and thighs in a LARGE stockpot with water to completely cover, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup white wine with a variety of seasonings; but, always with bay leaves, garlic and black peppercorns. (Place the bay leaves and peppercorns in a tea/infusion ball so that they’re easy to remove.) I use bone-in meat as often as time will permit because it yields more flavor and a moister final dish.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer 45 minutes. (I make homemade broth this way all the time.) When the chicken finishes cooking, remove the tea/infusion ball and trash its contents. Then, remove the chicken from the stock/broth and refrigerate the stock for several hours so that all the fat condenses and rises to the top. You can then scoop it out (skim the fat off) easily.
While the stock is chilling, remove the meat from the bones, (shredding it by hand for this recipe), and refrigerate the meat until ready to use it in this or whatever chicken recipe is in the works.
Have a wonderful SouperBowl Sunday. Whether you’re a Patriot or a Giant (or, if you’re like me, always pulling for the Falcons, whether they’re playing or not…), you’ll be a winner with this deliciously-healthy soup. I hope the game’s exciting and that you have a great evening. Enjoy yourself!
And, as always, make healthier choices for a happier life.
Nita
Anita Peacock
Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic
eMail: MyDiabeticBag@gmail.com
eCommerce site: MyDiabeticBag.com
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Credits:
Eden Foods (http://www.edenfoods.com/) makes a wide variety of no-salt-added, fat-free and organic canned/boxed vegetables and stocks/broth. I use a lot of their products and they are very, VERY good. Check ‘em out for a way to make whatever you’re cooking easier to prepare—you won’t have to make everything from scratch to control the sodium and fat level. I cannot get Eden Foods locally; so, I order them through our food co-op in bulk.
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