Chicken Enchilada Soup

This is a recipe that has always been a hit with my family. It is one of those soups where you can add vegetables or add a different meat. And the topping choices -- endless! Our favorite thing to do is put a cornbread muffin at the bottom of the bowl, top it with soup, and then go crazy with the toppings!

Ingredients:

•  1 pound of chicken, either cooked and diced/shredded, or rotisserie chicken, diced/shredded
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 qt chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup masa harina
• 1 cup enchilada sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 tsp salt

Toppings (Optional):

• Tortilla strips (I made some by cutting up corn tortillas, fried them in canola oil, and sprinkle with salt)
• Avocado
• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream
• Corn bread
• Green onions
• Cilantro

Preparation:

• If using raw chicken, cook the chicken in a large pot with some oil.
• Remove chicken and then add the onions and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.
• Add the broth and while it is warming up, mix the water and masa harina in a separate bowl.
• Add the masa harina and water mix to the pot. Also add the enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, and salt. Lastly, add the chicken into the soup and stir well.
• Simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently. If the soup is too thick to your liking, you can add more broth to thin it out. You could also add corn, peppers, and/or canned beans.

Crock Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

On cold winter days, who doesn't love soup? Especially broccoli cheddar soup! It's one of Will and I's favorite things to eat- and I've been wanting to make a version using out slow cooker for awhile. All you'll need to complete this meal is a loaf of french bread!

To start, melt 1/3 cup of butter in a skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups of chopped onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 6 tbsp flour, and season with salt and pepper. Whisk the flour into the butter to make a roux for about 2 minutes. While whisking, pour in 2 (12 oz) cans of evaporated milk until smooth.

Then pour the milk mixture into a slow cooker and then add 5 cups of chicken broth, 5 cups of broccoli florets, and 1/8 tsp dried thyme. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.

After cooking, turn heat to LOW or WARM and add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. 

Lastly, add 12 oz of shredded sharp cheddar and 2 oz of grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Enjoy :)

>> If you end up making this for dinner, tag me in an Instagram post -- @marriedtodavis or #marriedtodavis

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

I was craving my favorite baked chicken recipe, but I was missing an essential ingredient -- cream of mushroom soup (condensed from a can).

I didn't want to venture out in the snow storm, so I thought I'd get creative! I knew I had mushrooms in the fridge and the other basic soup ingredients.

This recipe calls for:

• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbs onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbs butter
• 3 tbs flour, separately used
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup cream, or 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

To start, I rinsed and wiped down the mushrooms with a paper towel.

I then slices the mushrooms, stems and caps in-tact.

(Tip: Slicing mushrooms always reminds me to make sure my knife is sharp because they are so delicate! Most accidents in the kitchen occur from dull blades because you cut harder with a dull blade. Every time I pull a knife out for use, I sharpen it just a few times. To learn how, here is a great video.)

Then, I chopped up the onions and garlic.

I threw the butter in my 9 in skillet. You will need the surface area for the vegges to cook, but deep enough for about 3 cups of liquid.

I started to cook down the mushrooms, onions, and garlic.

They looked and smelled amazing after about 5 minutes.

I then added 2 tbs of flour to make a roux.

I mixed in the flour and then grabbed the chicken stock.

I used a low-sodium chicken broth so that I can control the amount of salt. I measured out 2 cups.

After adding the stock, I mixed the contents of the skillet to make sure all of the flour becomes incorporated.

While it was slowly thickening up, I got the cream mix ready.

I started with 1 cup of heavy cream. 

Then I added the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

I used a fork to try and mix the dry ingredients, but looking back, I think I would use a larger cup/bowl and lightly whisk the cream mix.

I added it to the soup...

... and slowly stirred it until it thickened a bit more.

This soup smelled amazing and tasted even better!

It was the perfect treat on a cold winters day!

To see the mushroom and cornbread stuffing baked chicken recipe I used this for, click here!

>> If you end up making this for dinner, tag me in an Instagram post -- @marriedtodavis or #marriedtodavis

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Will loves the chicken gnocchi soup from Olive Garden, so I wanted to re-create this satisfying soup for my hubby!

I used about 1/2 a yellow onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic...

... and minced them.

Will pulled the chicken meat off of the rotisserie chicken -- it yielded about 2 cups of meat.

I melted about 2 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of EVOO in a large pot.

I cooked down the onion and garlic mix until the onion was translucent. 

While the onion and garlic was cooking, I took 5 stalks of celery and sliced them pretty thin.

I then added the celery to the pot.

Once the celery was cooked down, I added 2 more tbs of butter and 4 tbs of flour to make a roux. 

When making a roux, it's important to continue to stir the mix so that it doesn't burn and thickens correctly.

After the roux is ready, I added a quart of half & half and the chicken.

While the soup was warming up, I gathered enough carrots to make about 1 cup of shredded carrots.

I peeled the carrots...

... and continued to use the peeler to make nice shreds of carrots.

I then added the carrots to the soup.

At this point, I got the seasonings ready. This soup needs 1/2 tsp of salt, thyme, and parsley. And lastly, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.

After adding the seasoning to the soup...

... I grabbed the package of potato gnocchi from the pantry.

You just add them to a pot of boiling water. They don't take long to cook!

When they're done -- I added them to the soup.

I then added 14 oz of chicken broth (no sodium!) to the soup. You could add more top make the soup less thick.

All done!! And I swear it's better than Olive Garden!

I paired this amazing soup with a garden salad filled with romaine, artichokes, heart of palm, red onion, green pepper, shredded mozzarella, and croutons.

>> If you end up making this for dinner, tag me in an Instagram post -- @marriedtodavis or #marriedtodavis