Uncle Bill’s Sweet Onion and Chicken Soup — To Die For!
- 2 large sweet onions, chopped
- 3-4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped into 1/2″ cubes, with most of the fat removed (unless you’re into cholesterol).
- 1 4-inch hot sausage if you have it, chopped fine. The fruit-flavored turkey sausages are even better.*
- 2 pkgs of Herb-Ox Sodium-Free Chicken Bouillon powder
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp low fat butter
- 1 tbsp grated ginger root (preferable) or powdered ginger
- 1 tbsp powdered garlic, or two grated garlic cloves – more if you like garlic
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 large or two small bay leaves
*Black, Cayenne and White Pepper in equal quantities to taste (be gentle) if you have no sausage.
*********************
Put the oil and butter in a 12 in. skillet and heat over MEDIUM heat. (Never go over medium, you’ll burn the olive oil.)
Add the ginger and distribute it throughout the oil. If using grated garlic, add it with the ginger. Otherwise…
Pour in the onions and sprinkle the garlic powder over them.
Saute the onions over MEDIUM heat until they are partially caramelized. Pay attention and keep them moving so that you don’t scorch the ginger and garlic.
Transfer the onions and a bit of the oil to a 2 qt. pot with a lid.
Add the chicken, sausage, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, bouillon powder, peppers and enough water to cover the whole thing, with about 1/2 cup extra. Go easy on the water. Better too little than too much.
Bring to a simmer, stir well, and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes. If I have it, I like to put a gob of mashed potatoes in to thicken the soup. Make sure the potatoes are broken up and thoroughly stirred in, otherwise they’ll stick and scorch.
Serves 2 large servings, OK for a meal with a big salad added. Pretty good on cholesterol and sodium, but a bit heavy on fats — mostly unsaturated, though, so it won’t kill you this once.
