I need more hours in my day. Oh, and the ability to function like a normal human being on less sleep. Actually I’m sure there are plenty of parents who feel exactly the same way. No matter how organised I am from the time I wake each morning at six o’clock, I still have task after task hovering on that blasted “to do” list. 

Preparing nutritious, tasty home cooked meals takes up a fair bit of time too. Especially when there are six children and a husband who all have enthusiastic appetites but are at least, appreciative of everything I dish up. I like to eat beautiful food too. Something processed and over-salted out of a jar and slopped over a carbohydrate just doesn’t stimulate my appetite and so I find myself searching for recipes and developing my own versions in order to have a varied home cooking menu each week. 

My favourite soup of the moment is Fabulously Fast Chunky Chicken and Vegetable. The entire dish is made in a single, superbly large pot and then ladled into deep bowls with only a soup spoon needed to enjoy the steaming result. Less washing up! I made enough to generously serve my family of eight, plus there were two portions left over which Luka my four year old and I enjoyed for lunch the next day. This is an easy way to encourage little ones to eat a variety of vegetables, with the rice and creamed corn adding wholesome texture and additional flavour. 

I had this meal on the table within 45 minutes and that including all the dicing, slicing, sautéing and simmering. Of course the total time is reduced if you are cooking for a smaller family because there are fewer veggies and chicken pieces to chop up. Just reduce all the quantities by HALF if you are serving four people. 

Fabulously Fast Chunky Chicken and Vegetable Soup to serve 8 – 10

You can use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge – an economical way of clearing out that veggie drawer before the next grocery shop. 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg chicken tenderloins cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, brown or white 
3 cloves garlic
3 medium/large carrots
2 medium zucchini
2 long sticks of celery
1 large parsnip, woody fibrous centre removed
350 grams French green beans topped and tailed
2 medium potatoes – I used pink skinned Desiree
1 head of broccoli
handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3 – 4 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
finely grated rind of 1 small lemon
1 cup of frozen baby peas
1 x 400 gram tin of creamed corn – this was a delicious tip from our friend Anne-marie. Try it. 
1/2 cup short grain rice – I used Spanish Calaspera because that was in my pantry. 
Chicken stock and water – you need 2 litres of liquid in total. I used 500 mls of chicken stock and 1500 mls tap water. I used a good quality commercial chicken stock (Maggie Beer’s) because my store of frozen home made stock had already been used up. However, you should use whatever chicken stock you normally have in the pantry. This is a mid-week meal solution, not fancy fare. 

Before you turn on the stove, prepare your veggies. Wash them well, peel whatever is needed and dice into bite sized pieces. The onion and garlic should be finely diced, however and the broccoli broken into little florets. 

Take out the largest pot you have and splash in half the olive oil. Over a medium heat, sear the chicken until it turns from pink to opaque white. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and scoop the chicken into a clean bowl. 

Add all of the veggies – except for the broccoli – and sauté over a low/medium heat for  10 minutes with the salt, pepper, bay leaves and lemon rind. Take the time to sauté the veggies because this step intensifies the flavour of the soup. 

Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the liquid (stock/water). Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add the rice and creamed corn and simmer for another 10 minutes. Then add the broccoli and frozen peas and simmer for another 4 minutes until the broccoli turns a deep green hue and softens slightly. Sprinkle over the fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread. Dinner is done.