Looking for more penny pinched recipes? Here you go!
I really think I could eat soup every single day when it's cold outside. So as I was trying to come up with something yummy to make this week, I knew another soup recipe was in order! I'm not a big fan of traditional Minestrone Soup, but I saw this recipe for Chicken and Artichoke Minestrone and thought I'd see if I could tweek it a bit so that Mrs. Potts could do the cooking. It worked. 😉
Menu Planning Note: You can also find this recipe in our Slow Cooker Menu Planning Made Easy Set!
This is so easy and makes a ton – you literally dump the ingredients in your slow cooker and come back a few hours to have a yummy meal on the table. You can adjust it quite a bit – if you don't like artichokes (or don't want to spend the extra pennies on them!), leave them out. If you've got a can of black beans in your pantry, throw them in. Usually I would use cooked chicken that I pre-cooked at home, but in a pinch I grabbed the canned cooked chicken to make life easy. Really, this soup is so simple and you can't mess it up – just top with a hearty pinch of Parmesan and add a side of crusty bread, and you've got dinner done!
(I just checked and the recipe makes twelve servings and has 4 Weight Watchers Points per serving ~ love that! Plus, you'll quite possibly have a week's supply of veggies in one delicious meal. So good, and good for you!)
Chicken Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 1 onion chopped (I used a red onion ~ I always think those have the best flavor!)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 32 oz cartons chicken broth
- 1 can corn undrained
- 1 8 oz can artichoke hearts drained
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 10 oz package frozen spinach
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes drained
- fresh Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Dump all ingredients except the Parmesan in the crockpot (pasta does not need to be cooked.)
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve with crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
If you're looking for a deal on chicken for this recipe, you can get this Perdue Chicken Breast delivered right to your door!
Looking for more yummy meals? This recipe is from week two of our slow cooker menu plans, including this meal + 59 other AMAZING recipes (and 12 desserts too)! You'll also get lifetime membership in our private Facebook group, full of other families encouraging one another to make dinner each night together too.
These are the BEST MENU PLANS on the planet (and, the only menu plan that ship all the grocery lists, menu plans and recipe cards right out to you ~ no downloading or hunting down recipes on your phone at dinnertime ever again!) Go HERE to learn more. I know you're going to love these!
Here are the best sales I see to watch for this week (as of 7/10/13):
- Progresso Broth BOGO $2.59 at Publix, use $2 off chicken or sausage when you purchase 4 Progresso or Hunts products found in Viva Italia Booklets in store
- Mushrooms on sale $2 at Kroger
- 3 lb yellow onions $.79 at Aldi
- Tyson Chunk Chicken $2.50 at Publix or Perdue Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast on sale $1.99/lb at Kroger
- Or Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken $6.99 at Publix, use $1/1 coupon from the 1/5 Smart Source insert
- Hunts Tomatoes BOGO $1.99 at Publix, use $2 off chicken or sausage when you purchase 4 Progresso or Hunts products found in Viva Italia Booklets in store, stack with $1/1 Kraft Parmesan and purchase of 3 Hunt's products coupon from the 1/19 Smart Source insert
This post is linked up to Living Well Spending Less Thrifty Thursday – thanks for the opportunity to link up! If you need a little more menu inspiration, go HERE.
Gail says
I have never liked Minestrone Soup because I’ve never found one withOUT beans or peas! When I read this recipe, I had to do a double-take! I can’t wait to get my crock washed tonight and start the soup tomorrow. I DO plan to add the Orzo later just to be on the safe side. Also, contemplating adding canned cabbage since I canned so much this summer and saw it in another recipe???
Brenda VanDyken says
My noodles turned to mush. It was so bad I couldn’t eat it and has to throw the whole batch away. Do I need to add the noodles like 30 minutes before cooking next time? I was so excited about the soup too.
Laurie says
Brenda did you use orzo pasta? You could definitely add later in the day (they’ll need to cook 30 -45 minutes). I’m so sorry it didn’t work and haven’t had that issue! 🙁