Less Rambling, More RECIPES: Garlicky Chicken Soup

This weekend, Hubs thought he was coming down with a bug.  So I bought him some fresh-squeezed OJ from the Farmer's Market (Yesss!!  I am sticking with my Non-Resolution for 2014!), and I also made him a Vat o' Chicken Soup (which, as we all know, cures EVERYTHING).  I added a bunch of garlic, too...

Here's a Quickie Post ('cause my cousin, a FB Friend, asked for the recipe - which was an "Oh sh*t, I'm cleaning out the fridge and I can't remember EXACTLY what I did!" - so take this with the requisite grain of salt, k?  Bottom Line: YMMV!)

QT's Garlicky Chicken Soup - with Spinach Ravioli
Yield: a Big vat o' soup! (appx 3.5 qts +/-)

• 1 whole garlic rotisserie chicken (from the grocery store deli)
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 leek, sliced into skinny O's (only the white and light green parts)
• 2-3 cloves of minced, fresh garlic
• appx 3 big lacinato kale leaves (remove the white center stem, then chop the leaves) (these are optional, btw)
• small bunch of fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/2-1 cup fresh white mushrooms, sliced
• 32 oz carton of chicken stock (low sodium)
• 1/2 jar of prepared marinara sauce (mine was just the store-brand "Tomato, Onion and Garlic" flavored)
• (or I've also just used a can of "Italian Style" stewed tomatoes when I don't have spag-sauce handy)
• 1 (10 oz?) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• appx 3 cups water
• 1-2 servings (cubes, whatevers) of chicken bouillon
• 1 package pre-made spinach ravioli (from the 'frigerated section of the store)
• Seasoning salt (I used Montreal Chicken Seasoning, and some garlic-based seasoning salt - and I added a few add'l shakes of straight garlic powder).
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (or use dried if that's all you have)

Instructions:

1. Saute veggies in olive oil (I used Garlic-infused EVOO) in order of needs-cookingness. Onions, garlic, celery and carrots first. Stir over medium-low heat 'til onions are limp and translucent. Then add kale and spinach and let 'em limpify too. Mushrooms go in last - and here's where you start adding your seasonings.
2. Add chicken stock and as it starts heating up, start discombobulating your rotisserie chicken. Toss the skin, bones and other icky bits. You can chop it into bite sized pieces if you like - but the chicken kind of ended up disintegrating on it's own as the soup cooked.
3. I slowly brought the pot to a boil, then turned it down to simmer. I added the marinara, cream of chicken, water and bouillon at this stage (it was kind of a taste and tweak game at this point). All told, I think I let it simmer about an hour.

This soup was pretty-damn-good. and *should* cure whatever ails ya!  Give it a try and let me know what you think, k?!