It's Soup Night

It is so cold out!  I woke up this morning freezing and just wanting to stay in my blankets.  I was so thankful that tonight for dinner we are having Soup Night at Community Group.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Who doesn't love a big bowl of soup on a cold winter night?  I thought I would share one of my favorite soup recipes today. 

Growing up my Mom made this one soup that everyone loved.  She joked the other day that she does not have a name for it.  She had a similar soup at Shoney’s years ago and this soup was her copycat recipe.  It’s a creamy soup with chicken, broccoli and peas.  I told her it should be called Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup.  I’m a fan of omitting the peas from the recipe.  I dislike peas and have for a long long time.  When my Mom would make the soup growing up, I would have a smaller pot of the soup without the peas.  She is pretty nice to do that for her favorite daughter.  

With all of the cold and wet days we have had lately, this soup continues to be one that I always go back to.  I don’t think either one of us have true measurements for the ingredients for this recipe.  We both tend to just throw things in the pot and make it slightly different each time.  

Chicken Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

2 can fulls of milk (I just pour the milk in the empty soup cans instead of a measuring cup)

1 ½ cup of chopped chicken, cooked (I’ve used shredded chicken before too)

1 ½ cup of chopped broccoli, cooked

1 ½ cup of grated cheddar cheese

1-2 teaspoons of onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all of your ingredients in a pot over medium heat and cook until heated through and cheese is melted.  I typically start with pouring the milk into the empty soup cans.  Normally I add more milk.  It typically depends if I’m wanting a thicker or thinner soup consistency.  It’s your soup and your dinner, so do whatever makes your little heart happy.  You can also use more or less chicken or broccoli.  Sometimes I just omit the chicken and make it into a broccoli cheese soup.  If you must, add some frozen peas to the soup.  You will not see that component in the soup at my house but you probably would at my Mom’s.  Serve with some oyster crackers or some warm bread.  Both combinations work.  Another trick that I learned from the Pioneer Woman is to toast some saltine crackers in an iron skillet for a few minutes in the oven.  Oh man, does that add a fun flavor component.