Spanish style chicken noodle soup

I’ve been making this soup for the past few years.  I saw Rachael Ray cooking it up on her cooking show and decided I wanted to try it.  During the Lent season, I’ve made it to share with the members of my former church when we’ve had soup Wednesdays.  They always loved it.  In fact, during this past Lent season, I sent home leftovers with a couple people.

The thing I love about this soup is that instead of regular egg noodles, you use orzo pasta which is sort of like rice but is, in reality, pasta.  I also like that it has black beans in it.

Spanish Style Chicken Noodle Soup

Stars of the Recipe:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 medium-sized carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (about a palmful) of chili powder
• 1 bay leaf; use fresh if available
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of chicken stock
• 1 pound chicken tenders or chicken cutlets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes or 1 28-ounce diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
• 1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta

Steps:

1. Put all of the ingredients except for orzo pasta in the crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. A half-hour before serving, put the orzo pasta in the soup so it can cook.
4. Serve.

This post has been linked up to Colleen’s Kitchen Recipe Swap, Delicious Dishes, and Tempt my tummy.