Creamy Chicken Soup

I am not a soup fan, but I could eat this every week! It is an amazing combination of chicken noodle soup and chicken pot pie filling. And of course, my favorite, it's super easy and pretty fast. Prep can be done in advance for dump-n-go at meal prep time, or you can work as you go.

I wasn't sure how this would be received in my house; none of us are really fans of soup. I guess it's good we live in a warm climate, ha. When I told my hubby about it, he was skeptical. My kids were, too. It was an instant crowd pleaser though! There might have been cheering; I wasn't sure if that was real or in my head. Either way, there is excitement when it's on the weekly menu for sure, and that's always heart-warming.

I originally found this recipe on pinterest to try out. It went well, but it made a really large batch, which meant a lot of leftovers that people here are not good at eating. It also made a lot of dishes because the different steps required different pans. So, I started messing around with measurements and order of ingredients. I also changed up the veggie selection a bit to meet my families tastes, which is something you can do as well.

At the end of the day, it's what I have in the pantry/freezer/fridge that gets to go in. On this particular day I only had rigatoni noodles and had no celery but lots of peas. Voila! In the past I've made it with celery and corn and gemelli noodles. Amazing! I bet shells and campanella would work great, too. So many possibilities.

Creamy Chicken Soup

1 T olive oil

½ c onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 garlic clove

3 c chicken broth, and ½ c more

2 c water

salt to taste

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half

1 cup pasta, I used rotini here but I’ve used others too

½ c frozen corn or peas

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs flour

¼ c heavy cream

In a medium stock pot, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and brown. Add the carrots and celery and brown them as well. Finally, add the garlic and mix together for just a minute.

Add 2 ½ c  broth and the water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste and then place the chicken pieces into the boiling broth.  Allow them to cook for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate sauce pan, melt the butter. Then add the flour and heat until it’s creamy, just for a minute. Add the heavy cream and ½ c chicken broth. Heat to a simmer and then set aside.

Remove the chicken to a plate when it’s no longer pink. Add the noodles and the corn/peas to the broth. While the noodles soften, shred/chop up the chicken, depending on your preference. When finished, return it to the soup. Turn the heat down so the soup is at a simmer. Finally, add the flour mix to the soup. Allow it all to simmer for a few minutes until the noodles have softened to your liking.

Turn off the heat on the burners the soup can cool a minute. Serve with oyster crackers, saltines, or my favorite; focaccia bread. Enjoy!