Chicken & Chickpea Soup

I just realized I haven't posted a dinner recipe in entirely too long and I know why. It's not what you probably think...

The truth is, I have lots of dinner recipes that I've been wanting to share with you, but I've been HATING my food photos. So much so that it makes me not even want to blog about it because I'm a big believer in eating with your eyes first. It gets dark so dang early so by the time I go to take my photos I have exactly zero natural light. No natural light makes for verrrrry dismal photos and I just don't feel right about putting up dismal photos on a regular basis.

I mean, the other night I made Coq au Vin and I have yet to blog it because I'm so depressed about the way the photos look. COQ AU VIN!! I should not be embarrassed to blog about Coq au Vin!

But I am.

I've been dropping lots of hints at the Mister to help me make a Light Box so my photos will turn out better whether it's day or night, but alas...I still don't have a light box.

For the time being I've been trying to make do by re-photographing the leftover food the next day, in better light, and that's exactly what I did with this Chickpea & Chicken Soup.

(Unfortunately the Coq au Vin didn't re-photograph well either....damn you fancy but unphotogenic French dish!)

This soup certainly deserved a second photo shoot because it was so darn delicious! I'll take the extra time for a reward like this soup any day!

And it was no surprise that it was delicious, since it hails from one of my favorite food blogs, How Sweet It Is. (Jessica is a girl after my own heart with her deep love for all things bacon and chocolate.)

My changes are noted below.

Chickpea Chicken Soup

Source: How Sweet it Is

serves approximately 6-8, depending on your serving sizes

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped (I used a green pepper...doesn't matter)

1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped (I omitted the mushrooms because my husband dislikes them)

2 cups raw spinach (I used baby spinach)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used leftover cooked chicken from a roasted chicken I had made earlier in the week)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 cup chopped carrots

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 25-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I just used a normal-sized can of chickepeas...15 oz. I think?)

24 ounces low-sodium chicken stock (I used 32 oz of chicken broth (one large box) to make it more soupy)

Preheat a large pot on medium heat. Add chopped bacon and fry until brown and crispy. While bacon is frying, chop vegetables and prep chicken. You have 3 options for the chicken – you can either bake it while the bacon + veggies are sauteing, you can pan-fry it while the bacon + veggies are sauteing, or you can use pre-made/leftover shredded chicken in the soup. Either way, take the time while the bacon is frying to get the chicken ready. (Like I said above, I used leftover shredded chicken)

Once bacon is done, remove and drain on a paper towel. Keeping heat on medium, add onions, mushrooms and peppers to bacon grease and saute until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, spinach, paprika and cumin and stir for 60 seconds. Turn heat down to low and add chickpeas, celery, carrots and chicken. Pour in chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Right before serving, add bacon back into soup. Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve with toast if desired. Season with salt and pepper if needed. I found I needed no extra salt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And just because I feel like I haven't embarrassed my husband on here in a really long time either, I present you with this photo:

Yes, that's a headlamp on his head. He was grilling steaks outside and it was dark and we don't have an outdoor light so he resorted to this. He's cute AND resourceful! :)