I just love, love, love fall! I feel my creative side kick into FULL GEAR this time of year!
Try this fun idea! Your family will love it, any kind of soup will work!
Buy some fun looking pumpkins, cut the tops off, take the seeds out, bake, scrape out the baked goodness then add that goodness to a soup of your liking. Finally, after your soup is made use the gutted pumpkins as bowls:) Fun, creative and yummy!!
Cream cheese, chicken, veggie soup.
(recipe I used tonight)
2 tablespoons butter
1 red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks green onions
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
4 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on potatoes, I used yellow, red and purple)
1 cup milk (I used cream, why not! Any kind will work)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
pumpkin meat
In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and pumpkin meat, heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.
