Hearty Chicken Soup

I love soup!  Actually, I can and do eat it year round.  But, in the fall and winter, soup is a staple.  Chicken soup is absolutely one of my favorites.  Lately, I've been working on perfecting my own recipes. 

Ingredients:

1 Rotisserie Chicken (like the kind found in grocery store delis), torn off the bone

3 Russett Potatoes, diced

1 Pound Carrots, diced

8 Ounces Creole Seasoning Blend (Usually includes onions, bell pepper, celery, green onions, parsley, garlic; I prefer Guidry's)
4 Stalks Celery, diced

3 Teaspoon (or 6 Cloves) Minced Garlic

14 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes

10 Ounce Can of Rotel Tomatoes
3 Tablespoons Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

2 32 Ounce Chicken Broth

8 Cups Water

1 Pound Ditalini Pasta

For the rotisserie chicken, my local grocery store sells one that is considered "naked".  It has skin on it, but it is not seasoned with any lemon pepper, creole or Italian seasonings.  As I tear it from the bone, I remove the skin as well.  As the chicken boils with the other ingredients, it becomes tender and breaks apart easily.  You don't want chicken skin floating around in your soup.

When cutting the vegetables, I use these little flexible antimicrobial cutting mats I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  It makes adding chopped ingredients to your recipe so easy.

In a stockpot, put the chicken, potatoes and carrots, seasoning blend, tomatoes, celery, garlic, salt and pepper.  

Pour in the chicken broth and water.  I have always preferred to use the lower sodium chicken broth.  Then bring the ingredients to a boil.  

I let it boil for about 45 minutes, to make sure all the vegetables and chicken are tender.

While your stock pot is coming to a boil, prepare our Ditalini pasta according to the package instructions.  Drain, rinsing is not necessary.

After the ingredients in the stockpot have boiled, use the back of your spoon to mash some of the potatoes.  This is going to make the soup thicker.  I kind of go through and smash a few of the carrots too.

Add the pasta to the pot and simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

This looks so delicious!