something delicious: chicken curry soup

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  what better way is there to start out a brand spankin' new year but with delicious food?!



I've never loved meat.  In fact, I only tolerate it in almost every case.  sometimes my dad will cook an excellent skirt steak and I'll find the piece that is nearly charred and unrecognizable and I'll enjoy that.  mostly because its unrecognizable.  the odd thing is that the smell of it makes me weak in the knees.  I love it.  bacon cooking warms my heart and barbecues-a-cookin make me happy.  but almost always if I have to prepare it, I won't even touch the meal at all.  It completely and totally grosses me out in every single way possible.

so about a year ago I went to a lecture that I've mentioned before and discovered super grains that contain just as much (or more) protein as meats and also contain high amounts of calcium and fiber.  My favorites are the quinoas and amaranth.  so I started to add them to everything.  also, about once a month I'll go load up on one of every vegetable I can get my hands on and food process them together to add to every meal I make that month.  I freeze what I don't use immediately, and that way by adding the grains and veggies to every meal, I'm getting ridiculous amounts of vitamins and minerals in every meal.  it was a game changer.  my body feels so great and healthy and full of energy.

the first time I made this recipe (that I received as part of a recipe book wedding gift from my sister-in-law and her family), I decided to add my grain/veggie combo and see how it worked out with a soup and WAH-LA!  this became my new go-to cold weather meal.  Its an absolute hit no matter what time of year and no matter what people think about spinach, curry, or soup in general.  I absolutely love it and if its not gone that night, I'll be the one to finish it off the next day.  pair this with Trader Joe's foccacia rolls and you can't go wrong.

(this recipe is adapted to my forced no cow's milk diet, so feel free to adapt accordingly)

Curry Chicken Soup

1/4 c. butter 

3 medium onions 

4 T flour

1 c. sliced carrots  (or more!)

1 c. sliced celery

6 c. chicken broth  (I add 2 cups more to absorb the grains)

2 t. curry powder

1 t. poultry seasoning

1 T. dried parsley

1/2 c. regular quinoa

1/2 c. red quinoa

1.2 c. amaranth

3/4 c. 15 veggie blend

4 cups cooked chicken or turkey, cubed (sometimes I add this to appease other partakers)

3 cups goat milk (you can use half and half or cows milk)

1 (10 oz) pkg fresh spinach

1 c. fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)

salt and pepper to taste (you'll definitely want to add s&p)

cook veggies in butter until barely soft. sprinkle in flour stirring rapidly. add 6 c. broth. add seasonings and simmer for 20 minutes or until grains are fully cooked and soft (quinoa usually releases a little white half circle string when its ready). stir in meat, milk (or half and half), and spinach.  heat through until spinach is limp and dark green.

NOTE: this is not the soup.  I stole this image from the food network because I don't have one of my own.  but this looks pretty durn close.