Like any other normal person I go through phases where it feels impossible to get my veggies in. I try, I really do, and most of the time I succeed but lately I feel like I need to make a bit more effort to make sure I’m getting the good nutritious stuff. Soup to the rescue! Does it get any easier? Honestly, not really. Chop stuff, throw it in one pot and boom, you’ve got a meal and a bunch of healthy goodness. This was a beautiful take on a classic chicken noodle using green snap peas in the pods and tarragon to give it a sophisticated taste. I know I’m a little late with this being a Spring soup but my grocery store had them fresh so I cheated. Worth it.

Spring Chicken and Snap Pea Soup, recipe from Sunset Magazine

• 6 1/2 to 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 3/4 pounds bone-in chicken breast halves (about 2 small), skinned (I cheated to save time and instead bought a rotiesserie chicken and used the breast meat, have you ever done this? It is an amazing time saving tip, plus you’re left with the rest of the meat for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner)
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 4 ounces dried pappardelle pasta, broken into 2-in. pieces (I subbed quinoa to make it gluten free but had about 1 cup of extra chicken broth on hand to make sure it didn’t soak up too much broth)
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed (snap each pea’s stem and pull down sharply along the straight side), cut diagonally in half
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves (a must, it makes the soup)

1. If using rotisserie chicken start at step 2. If using uncooked chicken, bring 6 1/2 cups broth to a simmer in a medium pot over high heat. Add chicken, cover, and reduce heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. Poach until chicken is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; let cool slightly.
2. Add green onions and carrots to broth, increase heat to medium, and simmer until green onions are just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add pasta or quinoa and simmer until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Quinoa may absorb quite a bit of broth if needed add more stock. Meanwhile, shred chicken from bones.
3. Stir chicken, cream, snap peas, parsley, salt, and pepper into soup. Remove from heat and let stand a couple of minutes until snap peas are bright green. Add more broth if you like. Stir in tarragon and ladle into bowls.