Friday, September 6, 2013

Quick Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup

Actually, this should probably be called Use It or Lose It Soup. I had a small chicken breast and one scrawny head of broccoli in the fridge... While I always add Chicken Better Than Bouillon to my broccoli soup (they say that's a chef's trick to help creamy soups taste like they have cheese in them... whoever "they" are:@), this is the first time I've added meat. It was very good!
This is a small batch soup that makes 2-3 servings.

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup
2 tsp bacon fat-olive oil is fine, the bacon just gave it a little more flavor
1 small boneless chicken breast, sliced into bite size pieces-can use leftover cooked chicken
1/2 C onion, small diced
1/2 large stalk celery, small diced
4"-ish head of broccoli cut up small-grate the stalk for added flavor!
1 C water
1 1/2 tsp Chicken Better Than Bouillon-more or less to taste
a couple shakes of garlic powder
few grinds of black pepper
3/4 C milk-I usually have 2%, anything's fine, add little more if it gets too thick
1 Tblsp flour
Your favorite seasoned salt added at the table-optional but recommended:@)
  1. Heat bacon fat in pot and cook chicken, remove from pan.
  2. Add onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add broccoli, water, bouillon, garlic powder and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low simmer, cover and cook until broccoli is just about done, 10-15 minutes.
  4. Mix milk with flour and add to soup, bring to a light boil to thicken. 
  5. Return chicken and any drippings to pot, Add more milk to thin out if necessary.
  6. Adjust S&P. I really like a light sprinkle of Lawry's Cracked Black Pepper Seasoned Salt added to my bowl.
Eat well and have a happy day:@)