Chicken Zoodle Soup

Here in Northern California, our September weather has been exceptionally warm. We were in the low 90’s the last few weeks. But today we were only in the 70’s. And being the typical weather spoiled Californian, it felt cold to me. I wanted soup. Actually, it gave me an excuse to try out my new vegetable spiralizer and make zucchini noodle soup. Or “zoodles” as the foodies call them. For my vegetarian friends, like Sue T., omit the chicken breasts and substitute with vegetable stock.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• handful of baby carrots (about 6-8) sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 8 ounces of sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley, reserve some for garnish
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 zucchinis, spiralized into noodle shapes and cut into desired length
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat. When oil begins to ripple, add onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Stir for 2-3 minutes until vegetables soften.
2. Add minced garlic to vegetables. Stir for 1 minute, until garlic become fragrant.
3. Next add the chicken stock, poultry seasoning and most of the chopped parsley. Stir until combined.
4. Add chicken breasts. Once liquid begins to boil, lower heat to simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through and tender.
5. Remove chicken and carefully shred into bite sized pieces. Return shredded chicken to pot. Stir to combine.
6. Meanwhile, spiralize the zucchini. Cut into smaller noodle lengths, unless you want extra long noodles.
7. Turn heat back up to medium high.  Add zucchini noodles (zoodles) to soup. Stir and let zoodles cook for 1-2 minutes.
8. Serve with reserved parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.