Italian Chicken Pasta Soup

On to day #11 of Soup Month with a zesty Italian Chicken and Pasta soup.  Lots of veggies make this soup filling and delicious on a cool fall night.  The original recipe called for heavy cream, which is pretty calorie dense at 821 calories per cup and 88 grams of fat, but half and half worked to give the soup just a bit of creaminess without being too heavy, weighing in at 315 calories per cup and 27 grams of fat.  This soup is wonderful for leftovers and the recipe makes about 8 servings.

1 box Ditalini Pasta
1 TB  Olive Oil
1 whole Cut Up Chicken
8 cups  Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 TB Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, Diced
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
2 whole Fresh Jalapenos, Diced
1  28-oz can Diced Tomatoes
2 cups Half and Half
2 TB  Dried Oregano
Salt And Black Pepper, To Taste
Parmesan Cheese Shavings for garnish

Cook pasta in a pot according to package directions, being sure not to overcook it. Drain and rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

Place chicken in a large pot or dutch oven and cover in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer chicken, covered, for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and shred meat. Discard bones and set meat aside.

In a large soup pot heat 2 tablespoon olive oil and oregano over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, celery, and jalapenos and heat until veggies are tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add cooked pasta and cream (or half and half), stir to combine and remove pot from heat.

Serve with lots of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and a loaf of Crusty Italian bread.  Enjoy!!