Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I was in the mood for soup and wanted something with chicken. What I found was chicken pot pie soup. Although I do love the crust topping on my original chicken pot pie recipe, this is a nice change. And, it's fairly healthy, especially if you use low sodium ingredients if you can. We decided to make bread bowls as well. It was perfect for a chilly Spring night.

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
• 2 cups water 
• 4 cups fat free milk
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms 
• 2 chicken bouillons (I used vegetable broth because it has less sodium  1 cup broth = 1 bouillon cube.)
• fresh ground pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
• 16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
• salt

Directions:

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside. (What the heck is a slurry, I wondered. You basically mix the water and flour until well combined is what I figured but I created a link to the Wikipedia page if you want a more technical explanation.)

Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken boullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve. Cooking time will vary slightly.  It took mine a little longer. 

I didn't add much pepper and salt when cooking so it was added before eating and it was the perfect touch to a delicious meal.

This is something you can make in advance, whether it's the whole meal or just prepping the vegetables (celery, onion, mushrooms.) You could use rotisserie chicken but I chose to buy raw chicken. I boiled it, cut it up and  threw it in.

Enjoy!