Chicken 'Noodle' Soup

Back in their heyday, Victoria and I used to go to Brothers Deli in Burlingame, CA, for what we (and a lot of other people!) thought was the best chicken noodle matzo ball soup on the Peninsula. I still remember how they'd ladle up a bowl of soup and then add a matzo ball the size of a baseball.

Nowadays, I make my own. I'll be the first to admit that spaghetti squash is not pasta, but it's good; just different. I'm also working on a grain-free matzo ball recipe. In the meantime, this is a fast, easy, really good soup. Great for using up leftover chicken, great for the sniffles, and great for cold winter nights. Serves 3; double or triple quantities as needed.

EVOO
1/2 yellow onion, small dice (1 c)
1/2 c carrot, peeled and small dice
1/2 c celery, small dice

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
5 c homemade chicken stock
If you are using grocery store stock, you definitely want to add extra and cook it down to get enough flavor. Stock makes all the difference.
2 c cooked, shredded spaghetti squash, cooking directions here
2 TB flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 chicken breast, cooked, cooled and shredded into bite size pieces

Heat about 2 TB EVOO over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add the mirepoix, season with salt & pepper, and saute about 5 minutes to coat the veg with fat and the onion begins to soften. Add the chicken stock, 1.5 TB of the parsley and spaghetti squash, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a fast simmer and cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes, then cover and cook another 10 minutes.

This will cook the veg and allow the strands of squash to take on all the flavor of the stock, and also cook down the stock and concentrate the flavors more.

Add the last bit of parsley and the cooked chicken for the last 2 minutes of cooking, just enough to heat it through without overcooking the meat.

Note: You can still use regular pasta for your non-Paleo & GARD eaters.
Add the chicken stock, and then divide the soup evenly between 2 pots. Follow the recipe above for squash people. For pasta people, add a few handfuls of broken linguine to their pot, cover and fast simmer for 20 minutes. Both will be done at the same time.