Chicken Parmesan Soup

This recipe is a home run!  It smelled divine cooking all day, and was well worth the wait when it was FINALLY dinner time!

I found this on Pinterest.  Click here for the original website where it was posted.

I added some chopped tomatoes because I had frozen chopped peppers and tomatoes together that were leftover from a recipe I made at Christmas.  I used dried spices -- 1 tsp basil and about 3/4 tsp oregano.  I had half a red onion so I chopped that instead of a white onion.  I skipped the red pepper flakes.  And I picked gemelli for the pasta because I think it's fun.

It was absolutely fabulous!  I served it with mozzarella stuffed breadsticks from Schwann's (thank you Grandma!) and a salad.

Chicken Parmesan Soup

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound (raw) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups chicken broth, plus additional if needed
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy!)
4 ounces (uncooked) dry gemelli or penne pasta
Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

In slow cooker, stir together garlic, bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, chicken, broth, onion, 1/2 cup cheese, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook on high 3-1/2 hours or on low 7 hours.

Transfer chicken breasts to cutting board and coarsely shred; return to slow cooker. Stir in pasta. Cook on high 30 minutes longer or until pasta is cooked al dente. If soup becomes too thick after pasta is cooked, stir in additional broth until desired consistency is reached, and warm through.

Serve garnished with extra Parmesan cheese and chopped basil or parsley.