Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Recipe adapted from: 

Heatovento350.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
   
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies (I used Kroger brand)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
   
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. Cook chicken however you like. I steamed mine in my steamer from totally frozen with steak seasoning sprinkled on it for 30 mins.
2. Shred chicken. (I used my Kitchenaid mixer to shred mine, just make sure you put a towel over the mixer so you don't have flying chicken).
3. Add butter to a large pot, add celery, onion and carrots along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add flour and spices. Cook and stir one minute.
4. Stir in broth and milks, cover the pot, and bring soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
5. Stir in chicken and let simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
6. Divide soup among serving bowls.

Notes & Tips:

The original recipe called for parsnips, which sounds good to me, but as I didn't have any I added the frozen veggies to bulk it up. You can also lower the fat in this by subbing the cream for whole milk and the whole milk for skim. I wouldn't use all skim milk though, I feel it would make the soup kinda watery. I served this with biscuits. The original recipe called for puff pastry adornments, but honestly if I was going to go that far, I'd just make chicken pot pie.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Recipe adapted from: Six Sisters Blog

Ingredients:
1 (6 oz) pkg. chicken flavored low sodium stuffing mix
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon prepared, Dijon mustard
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (I steamed mine)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups cooked, chopped ham
6 slices of extra thin Swiss cheese

Preparation: Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare stuffing as directed on package.  Mix soup and mustard in medium bowl; stir in chicken, broccoli and ham. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese slices and stuffing.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.

Notes & Tips:
The original recipe said to boil the chicken but I seasoned mine with garlic salt and pepper and steamed it. You could certainly use leftover chicken if you have it. Really any way you cook the chicken would be just fine. Also, I did not cover it while cooking so that the stuffing could get crispy. I served this with a chopped salad.
 

King Ranch Chicken

Recipe Adapted From:
Good Housekeeping January 2011

Ingredients:

2 cup(s) low-fat (1 percent) milk
2 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 small (4- to 6- ounce) onion, finely chopped
1 large (8- to 10-ounce) red pepper, finely chopped
1 large (4- to 6-ounce) poblano chile, seeds discarded, finely chopped
1 jalapeño chile, seeds discarded, finely chopped
2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with press
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) lower-sodium chicken broth
1 can(s) (14.5-ounce) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
Salt
Pepper
3 1/2 ounce(s) baked tortilla chips, crushed (1 1/2 cups)
2 cup(s) cooked shredded chicken breast meat
4 ounce(s) pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease shallow 3-quart baking dish. Microwave milk on High 2 minutes or until warm.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion, red pepper, and poblano and jalapeño chiles. Cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Continue stirring and add broth, then milk, in steady stream. Heat to boiling while stirring, then cook 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Spread thin, even layer of sauce on bottom of prepared dish. Top with half of chips, sauce, chicken, and cheese. Repeat layering once.
Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling. Garnish with green onions.

Notes & Tips:
Ok so when I went to make this (a week after I had planned), I didn't have some of the ingredients anymore, so I had to improvise. I subbed fresh snow peas for the pepper, I subbed spinach for the peppers (which seemed a little spicy for my taste anyways). Also, I used the Lime flavored tortilla chips. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this turned out. It might be a good idea to use the 1% milk the call for, skim has a hard time thickening up.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 365
Total Fat 18g
Saturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 60mg
Sodium 535mg
Total Carbohydrate 30g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 22g