The Place About A Boy (okay, old man), A Dog, and Good Food
This Weeks Ramblings
So, you are the lucky few. The proud, the brave, the foolish enough to volunteer to test out this site and the recipes that are contained inside. The Picky Eater has chosen you wisely!
This site is a place for me to share my recipes and stories about The Crew, The Picky Eater, and myself. I hope that I have created something that you will enjoy using, and recipes that you will have fun preparing, eating, and sharing.
In the coming days, weeks, and months there will be a lot of changes to the site. I have a lot of new features, such a menu builder and new categories for food, that are in the works. There will also be a whole host of new recipes for you, as well as a brand new section with treats just for your pup!
So, I hope you enjoy your visit to the site. Since you are willing to check out the site early, please be honest in your evaluation. If something seems off, let us know. If the site is confusing, let me know and I will fix it. Any and all feedback is truly appreciated. Also, with some rare exceptions - this post being one of them, I will only be posting once a week, so you're in boxes shouldn't be overwhelmed with recipes.
Chicken, Barley, and Spinach Soup
A Good Tasting And Good For You Bowl
My Thoughts
Here in Tennessee it is winter and it's cold. Okay, it's cold for Tennessee. Which, for the last few years hasn't been all that cold, even by our standards. It's really more of cool and damp. Cool and damp is just as good a time for soup as any though.
It still seems like a good time for soup. To be specific, chicken soup. To be more specific, chicken soup with barley. I like to use barley in place of the noodles. For one, it's a really nice alternative because it is full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals that processed pasta just is not. It also happens to taste really, really good in chicken soup. So, what's better than chicken soup to bright the gray winter? Chicken soup with barley, that's what! it doesn't really take much more time to make, but it is worth the little bit that it does. Barley gives it a slightly nutty flavor, a really nice texture, and just a hint of sweetness.
Go ahead and give it a try. You'll feel better if you do.
Difficulty
Makes
6 Servings
Tools
Time
Prep Time 30 min.
Cook Time 1 hour 30 min.
Total Time 2 hours
The How To Do It
Take the chicken breasts and cube them into roughly 1-inch chunks (you don't have to be perfect here).
Dice the celery, onions, and carrots.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat place two tablespoons of olive oil, and saute the chicken. Add a half teaspoon of salt, pepper, and granulated garlic and cook the chicken until it is done.
Once the chicken is finished, remove it from the Dutch oven and add the onions, celery, and carrots and sweet those down until they are soft.
Add the garlic and cook it for 1-2 minutes.
Add the flour and coat the vegetables. Cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly.
Add the chicken stock. Be very careful here. No, there's no trick here or any special skills. It's really a case of I was an idiot and I don't want you to make the same mistake, so ... Be very careful that you have low sodium chicken stock. If you have full salt chicken stock/broth you will be making a big bowl of salty. Believe me, I've made the mistake so you don't have to. To be honest, if you can make your own you don't have to worry about the sodium thing, but I get it you're busy and a box is much quicker.
Once the mixture with the stock is hot (this should take about 15 minutes), add the bullion. I use the Better Than Bullion paste. I am not sure how much to use if you are using the cubes.
Add the dry seasonings and stir to combine everything.
Add the barley and let cook, covered, for at least 30-minutes. You'll know that it is cooked through when the barley becomes tender.
Add the spinach and let everything cook, again covered, for 15-30 minutes. This lets all the flavors blend together.
