Eggplant Chicken Alphabet Soup

foxfyre's Note:

This started as an experiment, originally intended to be a pasta sauce incorporating chicken, eggplant, zucchini, and other vegetables. The eggplant staged a hostile takeover of the recipe, muscling all of the other ingredients out of the title! If you use Splenda or another artificial sweetener and a higher-fiber whole wheat pasta, this ends up being a good low glycemic index meal.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 cups eggplants , peeled and cubed
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast , cubed
• 1 medium zucchini , sliced
• 1 medium yellow squash , sliced
• 1 cup carrot , sliced
• 2 stalks celery , sliced
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 1 garlic clove , diced (or use a garlic press)
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute (or sugar, if you're not worried about calories)
• 1 cup whole wheat alphabet pasta (or try the organic vegetable variety)

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare vegetables as noted above.
2. Set eggplant aside in a bowl with a generous sprinkling of salt. This will help reduce bitterness. Thinner-skinned eggplants may not need to be peeled.
3. In large (6 qt) pot over medium heat, saute onions, garlic, and celery until onions are clear.
4. Add diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato juice, carrots, basil, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and Splenda to pot.
5. Brown chicken in a separate pan, then drain and add to pot.
6. Rinse eggplant thoroughly and add to pot.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking vegetables periodically until close to desired level of doneness.
8. Add pasta during last 8-10 minutes of cooking.