Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup



I rarely venture into soup-making, but when the weather is threatening to turn cold, and you've got a sick hubby to think of, soup seems just the ticket.

A variation of Cheddar Broccoli soup sounded quite appropriate for the ingredients I already had at home, but after at least two cumulative hours online searching for recipes (exhausting Pinterest along the way), I found not one recipe to my liking. Therefore, I decided to make my own.

This evening was the first and, so far, only time I've made this soup, so the recipe could, indeed be tweaked.  However, I was so incredibly pleased by the product of my labor and thought, that I may not change anything about it! Plus, as an added bonus, this meal, from start to finish took only about 35 minutes. 

Enough talking...




FIRST WAVE:
2                  Boneless/skinless chicken breasts (partially thawed, cubed into 1/2" pieces)
1/2               of a very large onion (I used red onion), chopped
1 TB           Coconut oil
1/2 - 1 tsp   Cajun seasoning (I thought a rosemary blend might be tasty, instead)

• Saute first wave in large pot over med/high heat until chicken is just done. (I used my 5 quart ceramic non-stick pot)  Drain, and return to pot.

SECOND WAVE:
2 cans           cheddar cheese soup (I know, totally not healthy....but easy!)
1 box            Pacific Foods Cream of Chicken soup, 12 oz
24 oz             organic free range chicken broth (buy 32oz carton-save 8 oz for next line)
1/4 cup         Spelt flour (or any gluten-free flour), whisked with remaining 8 oz broth
16 oz             organic frozen broccoli florets, steamed until warm on stove or microwave
1/4 tsp          sea salt
1/4 - 3/4 tsp  fresh ground pepper (do this to taste...we like pepper)

• Add second wave ingredients IN THAT ORDER to the pot, stirring between each.
• Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until very hot, and broccoli is as soft or pulverized as you'd like it to be.

THIRD WAVE:
cheese.

• The third wave, I'll be honest, I eyeballed it.  I had a 1 lb bag of fancy shredded Colby/jack, so I added all but a cup to the soup, about 1/3 cup at a time while stirring. I'll admit, cheddar would probably give a better 'sour' taste to the soup, but it's all I had.

EAT!


Notes:
       I added the flour (whisked in broth) to thicken the soup, since I didn't use any cream. If you want as few carbs as possible, you can omit it, and have a more broth-type of base. Honestly, it probably won't change it much.
       After making, and slurping, this soup, I split the remainder in half.  Half went to the fridge for tomorrow, and half I put in a Foodsaver bag for freezing.  I'll comment later on this post how the thawed-from-frozen version is. 

Just to get started....

     This is the spot where a recipe is supposed to go.

 Here. 

Right here. 

Because, as you know, there is an extreme shortage of recipes on the internet. 

*insert giggle*

     No, really, I plan on sharing with you many of the recipes I've found, been given, changed, tweaked, and pulverized to my own liking, and have stood the test of the hubby. 

     For starters, however, I'll share the unique quirks of my kitchen:

Ingredients that aren't allowed:

• wheat flour
• cornstarch
• processed sugar
• peas
• cows' milk (unless absolutely imperative)

Ingredients we strive for:

• organic
• fresh
• processed with the least amount of ingredients and poisons

My disclaimer for all proceeding articles:

     I am NOT a cooking goddess. In fact, cooking really isn't my favorite thing (lets just be honest and say that eating out is SO much cleaner and easier).  I was sort of forced into the cooking healthy scene due to...you guessed it, my health.  I went cold turkey. Overnight, I left my breads, cakes, beef, Taco Bell, gravy, and life as I knew it, to start burning fish in the oven.  I've come a long way, but I'm still learning each time I try something new, or tweak a new-found recipe. Finding and changing dishes IS fun, however, and the recipes feel like puzzles to me: how can I make this food healthier? After all, if we're going to save money by eating food cooked at home, I might as well save our arteries and digestive systems while I'm at it.  Now, for the cleaning the kitchen part.....hmmmm....