Chicken Soup with Mushrooms and Cavatappi

This is the absolute best soup you'll ever try. It is by far restaurant quality. I use dried shitake mushrooms (just put them in water and rehydrate them), cavatappi (cork screws) pasta, and kale. Serve it with some warm bread and you've got a great home cooked meal (of course it's very cozy for us that are buried under snow).

4 skinless chicken thighs (1-1/4 lbs.)
1 large (8 ounces) boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 ounces shiitake or white mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal pieces
2 garlic cloves, without skins
4 1/2-inch-thick slices fresh ginger
1 bay leaf
3 14-ounce cans chicken broth
1-1/2 cups cavatappi or elbow macaroni
1-1/2 cups chopped kale or Swiss chard

1. With a small, sharp knife, cut chicken thighs along the bone, removing as much thigh meat as possible. Reserve bones. Cut thigh and breast meat into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small Dutch oven. Cook thigh meat until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add remaining oil. Cook chicken breast until golden brown on all sides; transfer to another bowl.

3. Add mushrooms to Dutch oven and cook 5 minutes. Add to chicken breast. Add onion, carrots, garlic, ginger and bay leaf to Dutch oven; cook 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables soften. Stir in chicken broth, reserved thigh meat and bones. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes.

4. Remove garlic cloves, mash and return to broth. Add pasta, chicken breast, mushrooms and kale. Cover and simmer 5 to 8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Discard bones. Makes 4 servings.