Homemade Chicken Soup in a 1/2 Hour 

Busy families are always looking for nutritious recipes that are quick and easy to prepare. Hot chicken soup makes an ideal meal for chilly Fall days. But who wants to spend hours making homemade chicken soup?

The following recipe from Mary Ann Esposito, host of the Ciao Italia cooking show on Public Television, can be found on the ciaoitalia.com Web site. All you need is a ready-cooked rotisserie chicken from the local grocery store, canned broth and some frozen vegetables to make a great home style chicken soup in less than half an hour.

Weekend Chicken Soup

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

5-1/2 cups canned low sodium chicken broth

1 cup diced leeks or scallions

2 cups diced chicken from a 3-pound cooked rotisserie chicken

1 tablespoon celery seed

2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Fine sea salt to taste (table salt will do)

10 whole cherry tomatoes, stemmed and washed

1 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour 1 cup of broth into a 2-quart soup pot; add the leeks or scallions and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 3 minutes or just until the leeks or scallions look wilted. Pour in the remaining broth and add the chicken, celery seed, parsley, and salt. Cover and cook 3 minutes more. Add the cherry tomatoes and peas and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve hot.

For a heartier meal: Add one cup of cooked egg noodles or 1 can of well-drained and rinsed chickpeas.

Hint: To save time, buy the chicken a couple of days ahead and de-bone it. Refrigerate the pieces until ready to put the soup together.

Freeze the carcass to make chicken stock when you have more time.