Easy Chicken Recipes for National Chicken Month

There is something for everyone in this collection of  Easy Chicken Recipes for National Chicken Month. Whether it's thighs, breasts, legs or bone-in or boneless chicken...you'll find inspiration here! 

Turkey Minestrone Soup

Turkey Minestrone Soup is a wonderfully flavorful way to repurpose holiday turkey leftovers! A healthy combination of fresh veggies, canned beans, pasta and that leftover turkey you have on hand.

Beefy Vegetable Soup

Beefy Vegetable Soup is full of tender beef pieces and healthy vegetables in a hearty flavorful broth. It's a great "warm me up" meal perfect for the cooler days and nights. 

Savory Herb Chicken and Rice Soup

Savory Herb Chicken and Rice Soup is a super quick, and easy soup you can have on the table in no time thanks to Uncle Ben's® Flavored Grains and a store bought rotisserie chicken! 

8 Terrific Ways to Spice Up Everyday Foods with Hot Sauce

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone. #SauceOn #CollectiveBias

Easy Gazpacho

This month, for Allrecipes, my assignment was to create a unique gluten-free recipe using Classico® Tomato & Basil pasta sauce.  One of the recipes I came up with was for this Easy Gazpacho!  A gazpacho is a soup made from raw vegetables and served cold.  It usually has a tomato base (the pasta sauce in this instance!) and is a great option for the hot days of summer because it is so refreshing! It is also VERY figure friendly!  And did I mention, it tastes great too??

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

I just love a good creamy tomato soup.

This recipe is a keeper.  The addition of cheese tortellini makes it a good hearty soup.

Quick and Easy Asian Dumpling Soup and a Last Minute Homemade Gift Idea!

Tis the season to over indulge, I know, but let's get back to the business of eating healthy, delicious, and low calorie, shall we? This quick and easy soup is not only delicious, but easy on the waistline...a nice change from all the indulgent recipes I have been posting this month.

Curried Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

I used to not be that big of a fan of soup...but it seems anymore, as soon as the weather turns chilly...I WANT to make soup.  It could be that homemade soup is so good for you OR it could be that I just LOVE my enameled cast iron dutch oven that I make the soup in!!

Quick Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

It's getting to be that time of year again...

Soup season!

I have to admit, In the past I wasn't much of a soup fan, but as time goes on, I realize just what a great meal soup is to have when the weather starts to turn cool.

I love that most recipes make enough food for a couple of meals...

I love that soup freezes so well...

I love that most soups are pretty healthy and diet friendly...well, most soups that aren't cream based that is.  At least that's what I thought...until THIS soup entered my life.

Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Have you ever had P. F Changs Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup?  I am in love with the stuff.  Again, I am a self proclaimed non-chicken soup lover, but this soup is just so unusual.  It's actually one of the things I crave on occasion.

Beef Vegetable and Barley Soup

The other day, I just had a taste for some good old fashioned beef barley soup, and lucky for me, I found a really nice chunk of sirloin steak on clearance at the grocery store!

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup was one word....amazing!  Let me start off by saying...Chicken soup is NOT one of my favorite kinds of soups...I am more of a vegetable soup girl...but the flavors of this soup worked so well together, I might have to amend my list of "favorites" because of it. I've never much been much of a soup fan.  Probably because when I was young, Campbells was the gold standard for soup in my house.  Not that I have anything against canned soup...but homemade soup is just sooo much better!  And truth be told, not that much more work than opening up a can and heating it up...

Split Pea and Smoked Ham Soup

You know what?

This was the first time I have ever tasted, let alone made Split Pea Soup...crazy...I know.  Was it the color, the texture, the look of it that turned me off all these years?....or maybe it was the fact that I was a Labor and Delivery nurse for all those years...( if you are familiar with L&D nursing, you will know what I mean) ...IDK.  I like peas just fine, and dried split peas are a great source of protein and fiber.  For years now, my husband has been telling me Split Pea Soup is one if his favorite soups, next to Chicken Noodle that is...and I have just thought that Classic Ham and Bean Soup was close enough to satisfy him.  But for some reason, I have had split pea soup on my mind lately, and I keep coming across recipes for it.

The Best Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup is probably my very favorite kind of soup, but let's face it, it can be bland, bland, bland.  This soup is anything but bland!  Full of delicious vegetables with a tomato-y broth and a little kick from some dried red pepper flakes.  It's real secret is one can of condensed tomato soup...yup...just one can.  The addition of the canned soup adds flavor and texture, but it still tastes 100% homemade.

Chicken Sausage and Tortellini Soup

I know I have been complaining A LOT about the weather lately.....so with it being so rainy and cold, I decided to make soup!  This Chicken Sausage and Tortellini Soup really hit the spot.  Warm, satisfying, flavorful and delicious!  The original recipe can be found at Allrecipes.com.  

Crockpot Wheat Berry and Turkey Sausage Minestrone

First off...I apologize for the lag in postings.  We had out of town visitors this weekend, and that kept me busy cooking and entertaining...but not much time to work on getting recipes ready for this week.  Lots of good food and good company was had though!  So today, I am back with an easy crockpot soup recipe.

Fire Roasted Tomato Bisque

Who doesn't think grilled cheese and tomato soup isn't one of  the top comfort foods ever?  I have been craving this combo all week!   I am a big fan of Amy's Organic Tomato Bisque...but sadly, I had none in my pantry.  Then I remembered a tomato soup recipe developed by a fellow blog buddy Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen.  Biz is what I believe to be a mastermind at soups...really.  Check out her blog, it's full of great  healthy recipes, but I most admire her for her wonderful soups!

Crockpot Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup

Tis the season for crockpot meals! :) This soup is easy and really, really tasty.  It originally comes from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook.  It's written to be cooked in a crockpot, but there is no reason you couldn't make it stovetop.  This is my first time cooking with kale...I thought about subbing the kale for spinach ( which would be a fine substitute) but then decided to broaden my horizons and just pick up a bunch of kale and give it a try.  Besides, kale is one of those winter vegetables that is in season and very reasonably priced right now.  I LOVED it with the kale.  Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium.  Since kale is a member of the cabbage family and has a thick stem,  you will need cut it out before chopping it to add to the soup.

This soup calls for 1/2 cup of dry red wine, which I highly encourage you to use, as it imparts the most excellent flavor to the broth.  This recipe also uses canned beans...notorious for being high in sodium.  To reduce the amount of sodium in them, be sure to rinse and drain them before adding to the soup.   Next time, I will be making this soup on the stove, so I can double the recipe and have plenty of leftover for lunches during the week...but made in the crockpot it yields six generous ( 1 1/2 cup) servings at 6 points+ each.  My entire family loved this soup and so will you!

Crockpot Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Servings - 6   Servings size - approx. 1 1/2 cups or 1/6th of recipe  Points plus per servings - 6 points+

Calories - 241,   Total Fat - 5g,   Carb., - 31g,  Protein - 19g  Fiber - 8g

12 oz. turkey smoked sausage ( such as Hillshire Farms brand), sliced 

2 cloves garlic, rough chopped

1 onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

2 large celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup cauliflower florets, chopped ( optional, I added because I wanted to use them up)

1/2 medium bunch kale, stems removed, and leaves chopped ( about 4 cups)

3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

2 cans ( 15.5 oz each) of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

One (14.5 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, with Italian seasonings

1/2 cup dry red wine ( or water)

1 tsp. dried basil

salt and pepper, to taste*
juice of half a lemon

1.  In a slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Cover and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, until the vegetables are tender.  ( If you choose to cook on stove top, saute the carrots, onion, garlic, celery and cauliflower ( if using) in a little cooking spray in dutch oven or large stock pot for about 5 min.  Add the basil and cook for another minute or so.  Then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil, and allow to simmer, slightly covered, until vegetables are tender...about an hour or so)

2. Squeeze juice of half a lemon into the soup and stir.  Enjoy. 

*this recipe does not require much salt, if any...the sausage, the beans and the canned tomatoes add quite a bit of salt to the recipe on their own.  I would advise you to taste before you salt. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

so easy....just dump into crockpot and turn on!!

Very Veggie Turkey Chili with Jiffy Pumpkin Cornbread

This recipe is one of my regular recipes for my family.  I make this often during the colder months.  I have packed it full of vegetables, to kick it up in the nutritional department.  I love adding zucchini to it, and honestly, would not make it without.  I can't explain what the addition of zucchini brings to this dish, but it just gives it that "wow" factor.  I use a mild chili seasoning packet, but you can spice it up as much as you like to your taste.  Or, make your own chili seasonings, like the recipe here!  (Please note that the nutritional information and point values given may be different if you change the seasonings )   I served this chili along with pumpkin cornbread ( a jiffy mix made according to package directions with 1/2 cup of pumpkin added to it) for a delicious dinner last night!  I topped my chili with  Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese ( 1 point for 1 oz.) , fage fat free Greek yogurt and some sliced scallions.