It's cold out, how about some soup?

We've been extraordinarily lucky here in Lil' Rhody - we haven't had much in the way of bitter cold, our first snow storm came and melted within a matter of days. Two snow storms after that, however, have left us with over a foot on the ground with some bitter temps coming our way.

So what's better when it's bitter cold out, and the ground is covered in frozen white crud? Soup, right? 

For the first time in my life I took on my mother's Chicken Escarole Soup. I ALWAYS bug her to make it, and it's become a tradition that she makes it for me every year on the day we do our annual Christmas cookie baking. But, I wanted to try to do it myself, so that I can have it whenever I want to have it, and not just once a year at mom's house. 

I tweaked a few things from her original recipe, and the outcome was incredible. I'll still always want mom's soup, but I loved mine just as much!

Chicken Escarole Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2-3# whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon Rotisserie seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1# ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 6 large carrots, diced
• 6 large stalks celery, diced
• 1 large head escarole, roughly chopped
• 1# frozen mini cheese ravioli
• 16 oz chicken stock

Directions

Drizzle olive oil over chicken, coat with rotisserie seasoning, and roast according to package directions. 

 While chicken is cooking, prepare your meatballs. Combine ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Roll into small meatballs, about 1" in diameter. You should get approximately 30 meatballs out of one pound of meat. 

Once your chicken is done cooking, pop the meatballs into the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until browned.

While your meatballs cook, and your chicken is cooling, dice your veggies. 

Once the chicken is cool remove it from the bones, discarding any fat and skin. Then fill a pot of water with approximately 4 qts water, add the chicken carcass, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for approximately 1 hour. 

After your chicken carcass has boiled for approximately an hour, strain into a large soup pan, and add your chicken, vegetables, meatballs, and additional stock. Simmer over low heat until the vegetables begin to soften. Once the vegetables begin to soften, add your escarole and ravioli, and cook until the ravioli is cooked through.

At this point you can add additional seasonings to the broth if desired - we added a bit more salt, pepper, and oregano. We also topped ours with Parmesan cheese after serving into our bowls.

Stay warm friends in the cold climates, and enjoy some soup!

Samantha and Rob