Chickpea Soup

This recipe originally looked like this, but of course I made some modifications. Below is what I ended up with. Sorry, no pic (unless I update this tomorrow after lunch...), but just imagine a good, hearty chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles. It could easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the chicken.

Chickpea Soup
modified from this recipe on allrecipes.com
serves 6-8

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
2 ribs celery, scrubbed and chopped
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onion, potatoes, and garlic until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

2. Add carrots, celery, broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, and paprika. Cover and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, brown chicken in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

4. Stir chickpeas into soup and taste for seasonings; adjust as needed.

5. Dish up individual portions, adding chicken to each bowl desired. Serve with clean eating whole wheat bread. Don't eat the bay leaves!

Nutritional information for the unaltered recipe can be found at the original link above.