lemon chicken soup with quinoa and kale

By CarolM-2

for a speedier version, substitute 2-3 cups cubed or shredded fully cooked chicken for the raw chicken

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast halves or chicken tenders.
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 ribs celery, diced (generous 1 cup)
• 2 orange or yellow carrots, ends trimmed, peeled, diced. (1 cup)
• 1 lg. onion, chopped, about 2 cups
• 1/2 cup white quinoa, rinsed
• 3 lg. eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 3 lemons
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 2 cups baby kale or baby spinach leaves
• salt to tast

Preparation

Step 1

Heat chicken broth to a simmer in a large shallow saucepan over med. heat. Add chicken, simmer, covered over low heat, turning once, until chicken is almost opaque throughout, about 5 minutes.
let stand off the heat in the broth, 5 minutes. transfer chicken to a plate to cook. reserve broth. when chicken has cooled, cut into bite-sized pieces.
Heat oil in a large, 3 qt. saucepan over med. heat. add celery, carrot and onion; cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth and the quinoa. heat to a boil; reduce heat to low. simmer, uncovered, stirring often until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk eggs with lemon juice and pepper in a med. bowl.
Stir diced chicken and kale into the soup. While whisking, ladle about 2 cups of hot broth into the egg mixture to warm it. then, pour the egg mixture back into the soup pot and whisk to blend and heat through, about 2 minutes. season to taste with salt.