A very easy take on the classic. It all starts with a rotisserie chicken. Let’s get into it:

The Recipe:

• A rotisserie chicken (unless you’re adventurous, go ahead and buy one)
• 2 white onions
• 2 heads of celery
• 8 carrots
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 large pot 2/3 full of water, set on medium-high or high heat
• 1 medium pot
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder
• Parsley and noodles/rice/quinoa are optional

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Take all that good meat off of the rotisserie chicken and put it aside. Get all the gross stuff (skin, bones, connective tissue–anything that’s not meat) into the large pot of water.

Cut the onions into quarters and toss 6 of those quarters into the water (1.5 onions), peels included.

Roughly chop 1 full head of celery and 5 carrots and get those in the water as well-don’t worry about peeling anything.

Take about 3/4 the head of garlic and crush it so the cloves split open–toss it in the water with the peels as well.

Okay so that’s the fun part. You’ve made stock! Let that cook together for as long as you can (I let it go 30 minutes to make the soup and it was just lovely, but if you have more time, use it).

Now, take the rest of the onions, carrots, and celery and chop them up into bite-sized pieces. Get the veggies into that other pot on medium-high heat with some olive oil, a hefty teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper, and a teaspoon of salt. You’re looking for a little color but they probably won’t cook all the way through and that’s okay. *If you have any vegetable scraps, get them in the stock pot.

Chop up the rest of the head of garlic and get it in the soup pot with the onions, carrots, and celery until it becomes fragrant. Add half a teaspoon of garlic powder.

However much broth you like with your soup, strain that much stock into your vegetable pot. Cook until the vegetables are at your desired tenderness. Add as much of the rotisserie chicken as desired when the vegetables are all good.

*If you’re putting parsley in there, use just like a tablespoon of fresh or a teaspoon of dried. If you’re cooking noodles or grains, do so before adding the chicken since the chicken is already cooked, and add an extra cup of stock so the grains don’t dry out your soup.

If you don’t add noodles or grains this dish is whole 30 compliant, Paleo, dairy-gluten-grain free, and just like…really damn good for your body and soul. Enjoy!