Soup on Sunday

The past couple of weeks I have found myself cooking a good pot of soup on Sundays for supper. A craving for soup comes with the winter weather in our house, maybe yours too! To me, there is just something about a good bowl of soup that goes with a relaxing Sunday evening. I have a new recipe for today, compliments of my moms good friend Carol. This is simmering in my kitchen right now and tastes delicious!

Lemon-Chicken Soup
6 skin-on, bone in chicken breasts
2 large onions, chopped
5 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
1 (1 lb.) package carrots, sliced
4 tsp. lemon zest
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Toppings: cooked barley, cooked green beans or lemon slices.

1. Bring chicken and water to cover to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.
2. Remove chicken, reserving liquid, and let cool for 15 minutes. Shred chicken.
3. Pour reserved cooking liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids; wipe pot clean. Add water to cooking liquid to equal 10 cups.
4. Saute onion, celery and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add shredded chicken, cooking liquid, carrots and next 3 ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add parsley. Serve with desired toppings.