Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

The roommate and I were both feeling under the weather this weekend, and the only things I could think about Monday morning were soup and orange juice. So, I did what I usually do when I'm sick, and I trudged off to the supermarket with a cloudy head and procured some home remedy ingredients.

I had been to the New England Soup Factory on Saturday for a filling meal before an afternoon of studying, and I had a hard time deciding between split pea with spinach or their orzo, lemon and chicken soup. So, of course, I still had the orzo, lemon and chicken soup on the brain Monday morning, and I had to try my hand at it.

And am I happy I did. Based on Greek avgolemono, this stuff is definitely a cold-killer, and it's easy enough to make when you can't entirely think straight. Although making this did make me wish I had a larger freezer - I used canned broth, but homemade stock would have been so much better, and that larger freezer would give me room to have it on hand. *sigh*

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

10 cups chicken broth
1 cup orzo
4 eggs, beaten
Juice of 3 lemons
Zest of 2 lemons
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
salt and pepper

In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil over medium high heat. Add the orzo and cook about 5 minutes. While stirring, pour in eggs in a thin ribbon (so they don't clump up in the heat). Continue stirring until the eggs are cooked into threads. Add lemon juice, zest, chicken, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil, then remove from the heat and serve.