Wednesday, October 27, 2010

In the kitchen with...

Tonight, we dine on soup...so what else is new? I never realized until I starting blogging about my cooking how many different types of soup I make and how much I LOVE a homemade soup. And how much I dislike soup from a can. The slippery *schlop* sound it makes as it comes out of the can, and how it still looks like the shape of the can when you get it in the pot? No thanks. I will eat a lot of different things if I've had my hand in the preparation and it turns out my critics are the same. If I want to hear an end to the "I don't like soup" cries at dinner, then I have to think ahead, pull out the mini aprons and get them in the kitchen. Suddenly tears turn into triumphs. "mmn-this is SO good!"
Tonight's triumph, a twist on a classic:

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

All the goodness and homey flavor in a pot rather than a shell. Try it...you'll love it:

Ingredients:
Tenderflake frozen puff pastry shells
1tbsp butter
3/4 lb chicken breast -cubed
1 8oz can chicken broth
1tsp chicken soup base
1/8 tsp thyme
2 tbsp fresh parsley or 3/4 tbsp dry
2 cups chopped veggies (whatever you like, this time I used carrots because it's what I had)
Cubed, peeled potatoes
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes for thickening

Directions:
Cook puff pastry according to package directions ( buy extra because people will want them!)
Boil potatoes until fork tender but not too soft
Melt butter in stock pot over medium heat. Stir in cubed chicken, and cook. About 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and whisk in soup base, thyme, parsley and chopped veggies.
Whisk in instant potatoes. Cook until thickened. About 10 minutes.
Stir in cooked chicken, and potatoes, and cream. Simmer until hot.
Ladle into serving bowls, serve with puff pastry.

This makes enough to feed me two bowls, my sous-chef two bowls, each of the critics, with a generous helping left over for lunches the next day.

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