Chicken Potsticker Soup

Dinner doesn't have to be boring or take over an hour to be amazing!

Soup is a perfect dinner meal all in one.  Simply full of flavor, color, and totally healthy.  

Finding fun and easy quick meals doesn't have to mean you go to a drive threw or pick up pizza on your way home from work.  Fresh veggies and a few healthy short cuts to help whip up something warm filling and tasty is right before your eyes.

I must give credit to Trader Joe's for this idea I took a spin off from them and just ran with it. Giving it my own twist adding and changing a few things along the way.  Hey, that's what great chefs do, get fantastic ideas for others and change it up!  Here is my take on it.

Chicken Potsticker Soup is a perfect meal in one bowl that's full of flavors that pop in your mouth yet delicate with a hint of heat.  Really fresh veggies are the way to go and with your favorite filled potsticker make this meal all yours.  You can use veggie filled, chicken, pork, or shrimp!  I'll totally recommend Trader Joe's frozen potstickers.  Most of the time I tend to shy away from boxed, canned, frozen, anything processed, however with Trader Joe's I have found that I don't have to worried about the frozen products.  They are good and all healthy.  Everything in moderation people.  

I have to cook just for two so most of my meals I create I cook up for two but anyone can double the recipes and a lot of the time we end up with leftover for lunch the next day.  This was perfect for the two of us.  I made just enough for us to both have plenty of soup for dinner.  We both really like trying new fun things when it come to food and I plan on sharing some of our fun with all of you.

In the last year or so I have really started to take a turn to much more healthy food choices than ever before.  Never eating out hardly ever, mostly only when we travel has it's up sides for sure.  I have become very creative and willing to spend the bit of extra time and money to really enjoy what we eat.  I totally believer it's paying off.  Remember key to a long happy healthy life is a healthy you.  Food plays such a large roll in that.  You are what you eat!

Here is how I did this.

What you will need:

1 package of Trader Joe's Chicken Potsticker's 

1 large box of veggie broth (I use organic only low sodium)

1 small yellow onion

2 small carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 cup of fresh spinach 

1 cup of bean sprouts

small hand full of fresh cilantro 

small hand full of chopped up fresh green onion

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

sweet chili sauce to taste after serving

You will need about 30 or 40 min. for this meal.

Here is how you put it all together to make a bowl full of yum.  

The first thing I did was set all my items out. Then getting out a large frying pan putting 2 of the 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan, setting it at a medium heat.  Once the oil and pan was warm I put 14 of the potstickers into the pan, yes still frozen.  Just having them over the medium heat to lightly brown them. I would keep a close eye on them so that they do not burn, turning them often is what I found worked for best evenly browning. 

I then chopped up my onion, celery, and carrot really quick to put into a large pot that has the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it.  Turning that onto a medium heat as well.  Once that is warmed up put in the mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot) to cook until the onion is translucent.  

Now your potstickers should be almost done and if they are all I did was set them off to the side with a cover on them to keep warm.  Then once the mirepoix is ready add in the veggie broth bring up to a gentle boil and also add in the spinach, bean sprouts,  soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Giving that just a moment to combined after coming to a gentle boil.  Then you add in the chicken potstickers.  Quickly chop up your green onion and grab some cilantro for your garnish and your ready to enjoy this fantastic full of flavors soup.

I loved adding the sweet chili sauce to mine after plating, so did my boyfriend.  I think it gave it a nice added bit of sweat and heat.  I sure hope that all of you try this with an open mind and be ready to fall in love with this soup.  We sure did.  

Eat, Love, & Live