Here’s another meal in a pot creation that builds on all the goodness of chicken soup and inexpensive veggies.

I will apologize in advance if you want a more “specific” recipe with exact quantities and measurable ingredients. I’m one of those “toss it in” kind of cooks, and once I have mastered a recipe, I rarely measure. Of course, the other problem is that once I master a recipe, I also tend to change it. A few tweaks here and a substitution here, and the original recipe is no longer even recognizable in some instances!

I make this soup dairy free, so for those who have always had it with milk or cream, this will be a new version.

To make my soup, simply make sure you have these main ingredients on hand:

chicken (2-3 chicken breasts or equivalent amount of thigh meat)
leeks (3 good sized leeks)
4-5 potatoes (medium)
salt
black pepper

In order to make it easier to put this soup together fast, I usually buy organic leek at our local farmers’ market in the fall, and then freeze it in handy sandwich bags for later use. Two to three medium leeks will make a nice full sandwich bag of chopped leek. If you’ve bought fresh leek, clean it thoroughly! Dirt likes to hang out inside, between the layers of this veggie. You don’t have to chop it fine for this soup - we eat it chunky ourselves, or you can puree the soup after cooking and then reheat if you want a “creamier” texture.

I usually start with about 2-3 quarts of water in a 4 quart pot. To this, I add the chopped leek and let it start to simmer. You’ll need the equivalent of 2-3 leeks for the pot: just the white and light green parts. While this is simmering, I peel and chop up potatoes. Usually, I’ll use 4-5 medium potatoes in this size of pot.

Then I chop the chicken. You can use either boneless, skinless thighs or boneless skinless breasts. Thighs are cheaper and will give you a soup that is just as tasty. Trim off visible excess fat. Cut into bite-size pieces. Saute lightly in a fry pan. Put the chicken into the soup. Deglaze the fry pan with a bit of water to get all the flavor and add that to the pot too.

Too thick? I usually end up adding at least another quart of water to the soup - if not 1.5 quarts. Add salt and pepper and let simmer for at least 10 - 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Now, the secret ingredient out-of-this-world soup is 2 Harvest Sun Herbal Bouillon Cubes. I generally add these at the beginning while the leek is first simmering. You can make without, but it will be even that much better with the bouillon cubes.

Allergies are the issue though, aren’t they? If you have severe allergies (or allergies outside the top 8 food allergens) then you need to call Harvest Sun and confirm that your allergens are not in those delightful little cubes. However, the ingredients are generally well tolerated and all organic. The package lists: salt; yeast extract, non-hydrogenated palm oil, starch (potato and corn), onions, celery leaves, lovage, chervil, parsley, basil, thyme, natural rosemary flavor.