Tasty Chicken & Fennel Soup in a Crock Pot

Submitted by Baby Kato

"Autumn is here and winter is on the way, what could be easier or smell better than a nice warming bowl of soup made in the crock pot. This soup is nice and thick and could easily pass for a stew...Feel free to add or omit any of the listed vegetables just as long as you enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 6hrs
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb, small, trimmed, quartered, thinly sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 parsnips, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 celery hearts, thinly sliced
• 1 tart apple, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup mushroom, button, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 8 skinless chicken thighs, deboned, remove all fat
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 cinnamon stick, 2-inch piece
• 1⁄2 cup great white beans, canned, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup orzo pasta
• 2 1⁄2 cups spinach, baby
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, good quality, coarsely shredded
• 1⁄8 cup asiago cheese, coarsely shredded

directions

1. Lightly spray Crock-Pot with cooking spray.
2. In the crock pot add fennel, onion, carrot, parsnips, celery hearts, apple, mushrooms and garlic in slow cooker.
3. Stir in 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper and make sure to spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pot.
4. Cut the chicken thighs into 6 equal pieces. Season the chicken chunks with the remaining salt and pepper.
5. Next place the chicken on top of the vegetable mixture.
6. Pour in the apple cider and chicken broth and cover.
7. Set slow cooker on high and cook for 1 hour.
8. Reduce heat to low setting and continue to cook for 2 additional hours.
9. Next add the cinnamon stick, orzo and beans, cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours, then remove the cinnamon stick.
10. Now check to see if orzo and chicken are tender and too your liking, if not, cook the soup for an additional 30 - 45 minutes.
11. Place the baby spinach on top of the chicken but do not stir.
12. Cover and continue to cook on low for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
13. Now, turn off the heat, add the parmesan cheese and stir the spinach and cheese into the chicken soup, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
14. Garnish with the Asiago cheese and serve with nice heavy white bread and butter.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

Although I pretty much followed the recipe, I did leave out both the mushrooms & the spinach, & when it was done in the crock pot, I set aside 2/3 of it to cool down before refrigerating & then freezing in 2-serving containers! Added an appropriate amount of the cheeses to the soup & we had ourselves a very, very nice mid-day meal! I know the recipe is very forgiving & I could add almost any other veggies I'd like, but the recipe as given was absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing it! [Made & reviewed in 1-2-3 Hits recipe tag]

 

[LifeIsGood]

Fabulous soup. I love the variety of veggies and seasoned chicken. I have a cold right now and this really hits the spot. The soup is flavorful, hearty and healthy. Thank you so much for this winner. I'm putting into my best-of-the-best file! Note: next time, to adjust to my personal preferences: I will increase the amts of beans, mushrooms and orzo, omit the apple and possibly omit the spinach.

 

[WiGal]

Loved it! Great combination of vegetables and seasonings are perfect. Really enjoyed the cinnamon in this. I cooked on stovetop because my crockpot is too small. Used 1/2 fennel bulb and was right for us. Did not have cinnamon stick so put in 1/2 teaspoon of ground. Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[bluemoon downunder]

Well I now have several portions of this yummy soup in the freezer for when the weather cools down more, if we can wait that long! :) What a superbly delicious meal! I agree totally with Marramamba and French Tart, this is so packed with ingredients that it is more like a stew: certainly a very sustaining meal in itself. And very versatile. It would so readily accommodate pretty much whatever other vegetables you chose to include. On Marramamba's advice, I was sparing with the fennel but to meet our taste preferences I doubled the garlic and apple (I used Granny Smiths) and added two leeks. I also added a packet of frozen spinach, thawed, as well as the baby spinach leaves (LOVE spinach). Loved the cinnamon in this: it blended superbly with all the many ingredients. I'm going to be making this a lot and I can see what's going to happen (it's happened before): I'll have two crockpots on the go making as large a quantity as they can accommodate between them. Thank you, Baby Kato, for such a fabulous recipe! Made for 1-2-3 Hit Wonders.

 

[French Tart]

BK darlink! I have a confession! As I had COOKED chicken to use up, I used cooked chicken and also cooked this amazing soup in a LARGE le creuset dutch oven! It was PERFECT this way - I cooked it IN my woodburning oven for a slow cooker effect! I used ALL of your suggested veggies, EXCEPT spinach, as I needed the spinach I had for another dish! This was PACKED full of flavour and we LOVED the different textures you got with all the different veggies. I agree with Marra, that is more like a stew than a soup and I will add dumplings next time for a big meal in one pot! Made for Holiday Tag and VERY much enjoyed, there has never been a recipe of yours that I have not enjoyed, so thanks very much ma leeetle baby kitty! FT:-)