Eilene was sick today so I plan on Chicken soup. Originally I was going to go with my usual French chicken noodle soup and then I noticed the bag of Mandarin oranges on the counter. I had bought these thinking they were Cuties, but they were not as easy to peel. As a result, they were just sitting on the counter getting old.

Karl’s Chickem Casablanca Soup
I went on the Internet looking for some kind of “orange juice chicken soup.” There were surprisingly few hits and fewer that looked appealing or what I had in mind. One that was close was a Moroccan soup that used orange juice. I looked up several Moroccan chicken soups and the spices blends and ingredients that made them Moroccan. Picking and choosing and using what I had on hand I came up with this recipe.
Note after dinner: This was a fantastic combination of flavors. Spicy with being hot. It may seem that there is a lot of spice for a dish this size, but it was perfect. The Mandarin orange juice worked as a secret ingredient (the soup did not taste “orange-y,” but you would have missed it if it was not there). Finally the bulgur thickened the soup just the right amount without turning it into a pasty stew.