Creamy Chicken Soup

 
     Ok Mother Nature, the Christmas Cactus on my counter is now blooming. You win. Seriously. Why the grossest weather today? It's so frustrating when a person wants to start the yard work and it's a blizzard outside! Sigh, maybe tomorrow?

   I actually did a lot of cooking today, because what the hell else to do in this weather?! Can you tell I'm just a tad bitter? I also made a chickpea chocolate chip cookie recipe. Turned out great and super easy. I love, love, love a one-bowl recipe! I'll post that one this weekend.

    Have you ever tried to do Spring cleaning- or any kind of cleaning, with little kids around? It's a real treat. They take things out faster than you can put them away. It's kind of like being in a tornado. A tiny, 2yr old tornado. Shane was outside cleaning the garage and trying to drain and refill the hot tub. I was on my own, trapped in the 2 yr old Polar Vortex and he was winning. I was going through clothes in his room and he took it upon himself to empty out about twelve thousand diapers and spread them out for me. Thoughtful, hey? Not to mention how necessary it is to dump alllllllllllll your nuts on the hardwood AND crush them into nonexistent powder with your plastic hammer. I had to put out an SOS to my mom. She said they could come over and I was in the car before we were done talking. You don't have to tell me twice!

    When it's cold and gross out, the first comfort-type food that comes to mind for me is soup. An awesome, hot bowl of soup. Soup loves you on the 38 millionth day of winter, soup doesn't ask questions! I love the smell of soup simmering on the stove, and it makes me look super domestic. Double win. On the original recipe it had a lot of steps, and I found it a bit hard to follow. Kind of jumping around a lot. Once I was done, I realized it was pretty simple and it just did the steps a bit awkwardly. (in my opinion) So I'll post it as I did it, the easy way. Or better known as the right way. Haha!! Make it tomorrow, or freeze. Doooooooo it!

Creamy Chicken Soup

You need:

4 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

4 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, peeled and sliced thinly (I had none so I diced zucchini instead)

6-8 medium white mushrooms sliced very thin (optional)

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

oil for sauteing OR butter

4 cups chicken broth or stock 

2 Tbsp chicken granules (OXO)

1 Tbsp cracked black pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

3 bay leaves

1.5 tbsp Herbes de Provence

1/4 tsp garlic salt

3 cups cooked rotisserie chicken, cubed 

1/4 cup white wine (your fav)

3.5 cups of milk OR cream OR 1/2 and 1/2 (I used whole milk)

shredded cheese for garnish (optional) 

First you need to make a roux. That's a flour mixture that will thicken the soup.

In a small sauce pan, melt your 2 tbsp oil and butter over medium heat. Don't bring it to a boil, just melt. Sprinkle the 4 tbsp flour, one at a time, over top and whisk constantly until all absorbed and combined. Take off heat and set aside. It should be a golden color.

In a large frying pan saute your minced garlic, carrots and celery until just tender over medium high heat,  adding the onion and mushroom in a little later as they doesn't take quite as long.

While that's cooking, get out your large stock pot and add in your chicken broth. Heat it up over medium. Add your spices (granules through garlic salt), chicken and the wine.

Once veggies are done, add into your broth.

 Add the roux, giving it a quick whisk before to make sure it's mixed.

Stir in your milk. Increase heat to medium high, and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer over low for at least a half hour. Because this is a milk based soup, you need to pay it some consistent lovin'. It can burn easily, so keep heat low and stir often.

Before serving, scoop out your bay leaves and discard.

This soup is very versatile and you can obviously add whatever veggies you like. If you want the soup a little thicker, make a cornstarch or arrowroot mix at the end and stir it in to thicken. I liked it the way it was.

The recipe says it freezes well and lasts a few days in the fridge. It is very hearty and filling, and smells delish. A great comfort on a winter day in April. :)

Sprinkle with shredded cheese to serve, if you like. Enjoy!

original recipe pingback to "thecookierookie.com"