Kath's Homemade Chunky Chicken Soup :-)

Thought I'd put a nice recipe up which I've been cooking and perfecting now for months. Chunky chicken soup! It may not be glamourous but its perfect for these cold nights to sit down and have a lovely bowl and feel contented. It may also be a nice starter for a valentines meal, a cheer up meal, or a meal for if you feel a cold or flu coming on :-). I've created this from scratch and put together the ingredients I like but if they arent to your taste dont put them in :-).

                                                               Chickens-amazing creatures :-)
I don't really use measurements I go' with the flow' so these are rough estimates. Cooking is about your own tastes though, not what anyone teaches you. I experiment alot with my food.

Ingridients (chicken soup for two)

2 chicken breasts approx- diced up
2 small carrots- sliced into 'counters'
1 onion
1 leek -chopped up
1 celery stick- chopped up
1 small potato- cut into little cubes
small pinch of sweet corn (loose)
1/2 cup of lentils (I use the orange ones)
2 Veg stock cubes or chicken stock cubes (depends on preference I use tescos own brand veg stock cubes)
Salt and pepper
2 Bay leafs

Method

Firstly I brown off the chicken so all of it is cooked on the outside. I heat up a pan with oil and continously stir the chicken until its white all over. I then transfer the chicken to a large pot. Once all the veg ingrediants are chopped up, I add them all to the pot at once.

I then boil a kettle of water and in a mixing jug mix up the stock cubes with this water , about 2 and a half cups of watr should do it with 2 stock cubes . ( if taste is weak add another stock cube! just estimate :-) and if its too strong add more water ) Once mixed I pour this into the pot with the veggies so all are covered but not drowned lol. I then add the lentils to the soup then add the bay leaves( these are a neccesary requirement tbh! make it taste so much better) And add any seasoning you like salt, pepper, I add basil too, but parsely is used alot in soups.

I leave this to boil for a good 15-20 mins , continuing to stir and check occasionally (as lentils can stick to pan) and check that the thickest ingrediant is soft and cooked (e.g. carrot) . The soup should now have a thickened consistancy and texture, if not add more lentils and cook a bit longer. If its too thick add some water and cook for a bit longer.

Once the consistancy and taste is how you like it, take out the bay leaves. serve in a nice hot bowl occumpanied with buttered crusty bread :-)

YumYum :-)

I guarentee once your perfect this recipe to your own tastes, you'll never buy tinned soup again :-)