Jennifer Garner’s Leftover Chicken Soup Is the Winter Hug We All Need

It’s been a while since we checked in with our old pal Jennifer Garner. Remember when she taught us how to make maple butter? And breakfast cookies? How about that time she showed us her favourite “biscone” recipe. Ah, good times.

Well, today we wanted to share another Garner cooking gem with you, courtesy of her Pretend Cooking Show. This time, we’re learning how to make Leftover Chicken Soup. In a nutshell, this is what our dear friend Ms Garner does when she’s got leftover chicken from the night before and wants to put it to good use.

We love a good leftover recipe, so simply had to share it with you.

How to make Jennifer Garner’s Leftover Chicken Soup

The below is via Jennifer Garner’s Instagram account.

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tsp dried oregano
• Pink of chilli flakes
• 1 Tbsp white balsamic or champagne vinegar (Garner calls this the *key* to the soup)
• Leftover chicken (appx. 3 roasted breasts)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp honey
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 boxes chicken stock

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven soften onion in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add carrots and celery. Soften. Add garlic. Stir for a minute.
2. Add thyme and oregano, rubbing between your hands to break apart. Stir. Add chilli flake.
3. This is the key! Add white vinegar to the centre of the mixture. Stir.
4. Shred chicken and mix into the vegetables.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, 2 Tbsp oil, honey, salt and pepper.
6. Make a well in the middle of the pot, pushing all chicken and veggies to the sides. Pour lemon mixture in the well. Allow to bubble. Stir for a minute and let reduce.
7. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
8. If you like brown rice or noodles — cook as directed, separately, and add to each bowl as they are ladled out.
9. Yum.

As she’s cooking along, Garner explains that all the herbs give this soup a real depth of flavour – no thin, bland dishes, here. Now, tell me this doesn’t look like a perfect winter dish for a bored Aussie sitting in lockdown (or not) right now?

You can watch the full video below.

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A post shared by Jennifer Garner (@jennifer.garner)