Chicken Basil Orzo Soup Recipe

Soup’s On!

Any of my friends, family, or coworkers will tell you that I’m kind of a ridiculous fan of soup. I love it! I enjoy making soup at home where I can cozy-up with a warm bowl in the cold of winter. And even on brutally hot summer days when the rest of the world is dining on popsicles, I can be found in the kitchen making soup … and then I have a popsicle for dessert!

The first night I made this bowl of soup I realized I didn’t use nearly enough basil; it just tasted like a pretty classic chicken noodle soup. But the second day when I reheated it, I added in another handful of basil and it totally rocked; it was wonderfully herb-a-licious!

If you’re a fan of chicken soup, grab some fresh basil and give this Home Style Austin recipe a go!

Foodie Tip:

❤  We arm-wrestled over whether this should be called Chicken Basil Orzo Soup or Turkey Basil Orzo Soup. Either way, we all win!

Ingredients: 

1 Teaspoon  |  Olive Oil
1/2  |  Sweet Yellow Onion, Diced
2  |  Carrots, Peeled And Diced
2 Stalks  |  Celery, Diced
3 Cloves  |  Garlic, Minced
8 Cups  |  Good-Quality Chicken Stock
2 Cups  |  Cooked Chicken, Diced Into Bite-Sized Chunks
2  |  Bay Leaves
To Taste  |  Sea Salt And Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
5-6  |  Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped
1 Cup  |  Dried Orzo Pasta

Directions: 

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large cooking pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, add onion and stir for 1-2 minutes. Then add carrots, celery and garlic then stir for 60 seconds. Stir in chicken stock, diced chicken, and bay leaves, then season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for an hour (or 30 minutes if you’re rushed).

2. Raise heat to medium-high and bring the soup back to a boil. Then add basil and dried orzo pasta and cook per instructions until the pasta is al dente. Taste and re-season with additional salt and pepper (or more basil) if needed. Serve warm.

Yields: 3-4 Servings

Love this recipe? We want to hear from you!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!

Mini Turkey Cornucopias Recipe

If you’re looking for a creative way to make use of those Thanksgiving leftovers consider this mini turkey cornucopia recipe.

You can stuff these horns o’ plenty with almost anything your appetite desires!

Tips:

  Don’t overcook the bread; it’s best served fresh from the oven. We found that Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheets cut into long  ¼” – ½” strips work well. The number of cornucopias you can yield from your bread recipe will depend on your wrapping technique.

  We bought the paper drinking cups at our local HEB but if you’re cupless you can shape your foil cornucopia liner entirely by hand. It will take a little more foil, time and patience but totally doable in a pinch.

  My favorite pickle is a Wickles Pickle. My favorite mustard is Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Mustard.

Ingredients and Materials:

A Few Pieces  |  Nonstick Aluminum Foil
6-10 Small  |  Paper Drinking Cups
A Few Squirts  |  Cooking Spray
Your Favorite  |  Croissants, Puff Pastry Or Bread Recipe
1  |  Cage Free Egg, Beaten
2 Tablespoons  |  Water
1  |  Pastry Brush
To Stuff And Serve  |  Your Favorite Thanksgiving Fixings (turkey, bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickle, dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, gravy, etc.)

What To Do:

1. To form the cornucopia, wrap a small piece of foil around a small paper drinking cup. Tuck foil around the rim of the cup and shape the end of the foil into a curvy tail as shown below. Spray the foil on the cornucopia with the cooking spray.

2. Using long strips of your dough start at the small end of the foil cornucopia form and closely wrap the dough around the form from tail to top, leaving no foil exposed. You can connect strips of the dough together by brushing a bit of beaten egg to the ends of the dough when forming. Set aside on a greased cooking sheet.

3. Continue wrapping the cornucopia forms with the dough. When all the cornucopias are complete make an egg wash by adding 2 tablespoons of water to your remaining egg. Brush each cornucopia with the wash using the pastry brush and return it to the cookie sheet.

4. Bake the cornucopias according to the dough-baking instructions. Remove from oven and cool. Free the bread cornucopia from the foil base by gently wiggling the cup from the dough – bend/crush the cup if necessary and discard the cup and foil.

5. Let your guests build their own cornucopias to their preference “Subway sandwich style” or you can make them in advance. Have fun with your stuffings – there are lots of possibilities!

Serves 4-6 hungry folks. 

Gobble ’till you wobble and make it a great Thanksgiving!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.