Paleo Chicken "Noodle" Soup

It's what {was} for dinner in our house tonight. All four kids have some sort of infection (ears, throat, lungs, etc.) and this is the perfect dinner when you're feeling under the weather. This tastes just like chicken noodle soup: it's mild, light on the tummy and comforting.  (My sister passed this on, based off this recipe, after her kids gave it their approval...and my kids have agreed that it's one of their favorite soups.)

Like most real-food meals, it does require a bit of prep work, but if you can plan ahead for it, it's not too bad.

Paleo Chicken "Noodle" Soup

fat of choice (coconut oil, butter, olive oil, etc.)

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 large onion, diced

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 whole soup chicken, cooked and shredded (Yonder Way Farm)

2 lbs butternut squash  (pre-peeled and cubed from Sam's or Costco)

1 head of cauliflower, riced (I like to do this at the beginning of the week, when I try to prep all my veggies at once, if so this makes it a lot easier. If you don't know how to rice a cauliflower, see step 1, here.)

1 large can of diced tomatoes (28oz)

6-8 cups chicken bone broth (Make your own...I keep them in my freezer in Mason jars and let them thaw out the morning I use it.)

1. Start cooking/boiling your chicken. (When I boil my chicken, it's always seems to dry. So, I put mine in a crockpot on low for 6 hours (for a small, whole soup chicken, 8 hours for a large whole chicken) covered with salt and pepper. Nothing else in the crockpot. Just the chicken. You might be worried that it's going to be really dry. It's actually the opposite. My friend Meredith told me how to do it this way. It's amazingly moist and simple.)

2. Steam the butternut squash for about 10 minutes until barely tender. Remove half the squash onto a plate. Allow the remaining squash to simmer for about 5 more minutes. Then, drain water and mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside. (I usually use the same plate: half with cubed squash, half with mashed squash.)

3. Melt fat of choice in the bottom of a large pot. Saute onion for about 8 minutes and add the garlic for a few more minutes. Add riced cauliflower, cook for about 5 minutes. (I also usually add the broth that was at the bottom of my crockpot from cooking the whole chicken at this point. If you didn't do that, no big deal, you'll add the broth in a little bit.) While all this is happening, shred your chicken on a plate.

4. Add tomatoes, all of the butternut squashed (mashed and cubed), and shredded chicken. Pour all spices and seasonings over the top of the chicken. Add the 6-8 cups of broth. And allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.