Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Is there anything better on a cold, stormy night than a steaming, comfy bowl of soup?  Not in my book.  (Ok, fine. Add a glass of wine. And a loved one. And a puppy.  And a new episode of Vampire Diaries.  There.  Nothing better).

As Billy and I prepare for our 3 day juice cleanse (starts tomorrow...more on that later), we decided to make some healthy, clean, lemon chicken orzo soup for dinner leading up to it.

This soup comes from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave cookbook.  It's a well-loved cookbook...all marked up with notes, comments, bookmarks, and food! Definitely one of our favorites.   

Ingredients

4 tsp olive oil

8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks

salt and pepper

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup orzo (whole wheat if you can find it)

2 large eggs

4 lemons (squeeze out juice)

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a soup pot of med-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the pot until done.  Take out chicken and set aside

Add the remaining 2 tsp of oil to the pot. Throw in the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook over med-high heat until tender.  Add 5 cups of broth and bring to a boil.  Add the orzo and simmer until tender (8ish minutes).  Turn the heat to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup of broth in a small sauce pan or in the microwave until it's hot but not boiling.  In a bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice.  Add the egg-lemon mixture to the hot broth, stirring all the while.  Add that mixture to the soup, stirring the whole time until the soup thickens. Don't let soup come to a boil or the egg will cook!  Add the chicken back in to the soup and season with salt and pepper.

***NOTE: I double this recipe and we eat it for a couple of days. Definitely gets better with time :>) But if you like it to stay "soupy" (it thickens quite a lot) add broth as you re-heat.  ALSO, I always add extra lemon...I just keep tasting and adding till it gets to lemon-y perfection.