“Witches’ Brew” Chicken Soup

At the first sign of grey skies and a little bit of cold (anything below 70 is cold for me) and shorter days, I start to want soup. I also want to curl up on the couch in a blanket, drink coffee and watch reruns of The Facts of Life, Fraiser and The Gilmore Girls. Pretty much, I’d like to hibernate like a bear. Unfortunately, the necessity to work and make money keeps me from hibernating all Fall and Winter, but I’ve got a recipe that will help ward off that seasonal depression.

Here are the ingredients and for the most part, instructions listed in the recipe book, Southern Living Party Cookbook. I’ll explain my deviations later.

1 tablespoon of butter
4 skinned and boned chicken breasts, chopped
1 large onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14-ounce) cans low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 (16-ounce) cans great Northern beans, rinsed, drained and divided
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cooked and crumbled bacon

First of all, I don’t use the chicken bouillon granules because they normally contain corn products and I find it unnecessary. Use the regular full on sodium chicken broth instead. I also like to add a little bit of the water from boiling the chicken. That’s the method I use to cook the chicken, so I have a little bit of chicken flavored water left over. Why not use some in the soup? I also only use about half of the can of green chiles. I don’t like things incredibly spicy … or should I say incredibly spicy things don’t like me. I also just tend to throw in spices as I see fit. I rarely measure that stuff anymore.

Here we go:

Melt the butter in a big pot over medium-high heat. If you are a lover of bacon, you might also cook some bacon before the butter melting stage and leave some of the drippings to give the soup a more “bacony” flavor. Reserve the bacon for toppings later. Anyway, melt the butter and add the chicken and next 3 ingredients. Saute 10 minutes, then stir in broth and the next 3 ingredients.

Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, stir occasionally. Then stir in 2 cans of beans and the chiles.

Mash the remaining beans in a small bowl. Whisk together the flour and milk , then stir into the mashed beans. Slowly add the bean mixture to the soup, constantly stirring during the process. Cook 10 minutes or until your desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve with whatever toppings you want. It’s soup; the sky’s the limit. This soup rocks.

As the colder season rolls around, I fall in love with this one man band called Sleeping at Last. His music is mellow and gets me in the mood for that dreary, yet snuggly weather. The main word I think of when I think Sleeping at Last is “beautiful.” It’s just beautiful music. This past year, he did a “Yearbook” project where he released a three-song EP each month. Artistically, that’s a pretty big commitment. A bonus that I’ve appreciated is that he worked with an artist to create some beautiful album covers for each EP. Check out Sleeping at Last and the (not to overuse the word) beautiful artwork at SleepingAtLast.com and/or listen to him on the widget below.