It’s nice and cool outside now and all I am craving is soup and anything warm. I woke up this morning to a 66 degree house… we were all shivering our butts off lol. I guess it’s safe to say it’s time to turn the heat on at night. It’s that weird time of the year where we have that in-between weather where the nights are cold but it warms up a little during the day… so we really don’t know what to do with the AC. Turn it off? Keep the heat on 65? I don’t know but the temperature is all over the place in our house at the moment! I mean at least the 100 degree summer is over, thank goodness.

Oh my I love this soup. It’s super creamy and salty from the chicken broth. I use boxed broth and a whole chicken to create a super flavorful base. The chicken cooks in the broth and releases all that good fatty flavor from the meat and skin. I shred it and add in back in with some chunks of potato, carrot, onion and celery. I also added a bunch of fresh herbs to add more depth to the dish and make it feel more wintery. That’s pretty much all there is to it. Not complicated at all. Most soups really are so forgiving and near impossible to mess up. This one is no exception.

I definitely recommend using a whole chicken as apposed to chicken pieces. It’s much much cheaper this way and also gives you a good balance of light to dark meat.

CREAMY CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour + 40 minutes

Serves: 8 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lb chicken, broken down into pieces
• 2 – 32oz boxes regular chicken broth
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 large carrots, cut into small rounds
• 2 stalks celery, small dice
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 small sized Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch chunks
• 5 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 1 spring rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Dash of salt, to taste
• Corn starch slurry (4 tbsp corn starch to 2 tbsp water)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the chicken pieces and broth in a large pot and bring to a soft boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove lid and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from the broth and shred off the bone. Discard bones and skin. Set aside the chicken for now.
3. Strain the broth through a strainer into a large bowl to remove any unwanted chicken pieces. You may also use a slotted spoon to remove unwanted pieces. Do not rinse the pot.
4. Place the pot back on the stove on medium heat. Add in butter, carrots, celery, onion, garlic and potatoes. Sauté for a couple minutes just until fragrant.
5. Add in broth, thyme, rosemary and cream. Bring to a soft boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Once tender turn heat down to low.
6. Add in chicken and corn starch slurry. Allow a minute or two for it to thicken slightly. It will still be brothy but with a slightly thicker consistency.
7. Turn off heat and serve warm.