Chicken Florentine Soup
This soup is warm and comforting. It was a nice choice for an unseasonably chilly evening. It was one of those spur of the moment recipes that really exceeded expectations. I just had a few ingredients to start with- one of those times when you look through the fridge for inspiration and get lucky.
I knew I was making soup, and that I had chicken and chicken stock. Adding onions and carrots to soup- pretty standard for me. I’ve been on a spinach kick lately so that seemed like a natural addition as well. Found a few mushrooms I’d forgotten about, and put them in, too.
For some reason it was such a perfect combination. I love when it works that way. I am also happy when I remember to write down what I did so I can make it again someday- and share the recipe with all of you. Since the soup has spinach as a central ingredient, I decided to call it Chicken Florentine Soup. So here is the recipe.
Chicken Florentine Soup
2 T. oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
6-8 cups chicken stock
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed – I used thighs
1-2 c. sliced mushrooms – I used the baby Bellas
8 oz. fresh spinach, washed well
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce
Heat oil in soup pot and cook onion until tender. Add carrot and cook a few minutes more. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook 10 minutes longer. Add spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings and serve. Makes 6 servings
Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup
My Mom made wonderful chicken noodle soup, so I think of her every time I make it. I pretty much make mine the same way she did. She taught me well. Since it a chilly, rainy day today, I decided to make some.
I don’t really have an exact recipe for this soup. So rather than writing out the recipe, I will tell you what I do- and what not to do. There is one pretty important thing about chicken noodle soup you should know- don’t cook the noodles in the soup. I know that sounds wrong. Trust me, if you cook your noodles in your soup you’ll end up with a goopy mess. Cook your noodles separately and add them when serving the soup. This does two good things. It keeps the noodles from getting overcooked and it lets each person add just the amount of noodles they like. Let’s face it some people just like a few noodles and others prefer a lot. This way each person gets their soup the way they like it.
So for directions here is what I do. I start with homemade chicken stock. Since I made the stock, I’ll have the chicken I used to make it. I cube up some of the meat and add it to the stock. I also add some diced onions, sliced carrots and sliced celery and let them simmer in the soup until tender. I sometimes add other veggies. Green beans or maybe a zucchini. I don’t get too crazy with the veggies here or it will become vegetable soup. I almost always remember to add some parsley. I love fresh ground pepper, too. Don’t put too much stuff in – you will be adding noodles after all. I cook my noodles and when the soup is ready to serve I warm them up a little- often just in a bowl in the microwave. That way the noodles won’t cool down your soup. I ladle the soup into bowls and put the noodles on the table so everybody can add their own. Seems to work out pretty well.
My Mother was so funny when eating this soup. She had to have it come out “even”. She’d be nearly finished and realized she was out of noodles- so she would add a few. But then she needed more broth so she would add more of that. This went on several times. At the end she always insisted she only had one bowl.
I loving memory of Irene Kubacki Strauss
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
I have to thank my friend, Vicky Singleton, for the inspiration of this recipe. She asked if I had ever made chicken pot pie soup. I hadn’t. I told her I hadn’t ever heard of it. She explained to me what it was.
So what exactly is Chicken Pot Pie Soup? Imagine the ingredients of a pot pie, only in a soup. Then imagine using baked pie crust like croutons on the soup. A classic casserole, presented in soup form.
You want this soup to be creamy, like a pot pie filling. How “thickened” is really up to you. I didn’t want my soup to be as thick as a pot pie, but I wanted it thickened, so I played around with the amount of flour I added to it. Half a cup of flour worked perfectly for me, but you can add 1/4 cup more flour if you want a thicker soup.
The vegetable selection has some wiggle room, too. I think green beans would be a nice addition, I just didn’t have any. That is the fun part of making your own version. I think I might add mushrooms to the next batch.
I could see making this soup with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.
I made my own pie crust, but feel free to use store bought. The recipe for the crust is at the bottom of this post. I used cookie cutters, but you could cut the crust out free-hand into little squares or triangles.
So here is the version of Chicken Pot Pie Soup I came up with. I hope you’ll give it a try. You can thank Vicky.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Dough for 2 pie crusts – recipe follows
3 T. oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 c. sliced celery
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 c. fresh or frozen corn
3 c. cooked chicken, diced
8 c. chicken stock
1 c. peas, fresh or frozen
½ c. flour
¼ c. fresh chopped parsley- or 1 T. dried
Salt and pepper to taste
The pie dough makes the croutons for the top of the soup. You can use homemade pie crust or store bought. Roll out the crust to about 1/8-inch thick and cut out in pretty shapes to top your soup. Re roll scraps and place all the cut out dough pieces on an ungreased baking sheet. It will take two sheets for all the dough. Bake in a 350 degree until golden, about 7-10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack.
In a soup pot, heat up the butter or oil and add the onions, cooking until onions are tender. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, corn and 7 cups of the stock. Set the remaining cup of stock aside for now. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Place the reserved stock in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the flour, close jar tightly and shake until the mixture is smooth. Add the flour/stock mixture to the soup along with the peas and parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered 5 minutes- or a little longer. Adjust seasonings.
Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some the pie crust croutons. Serves 6-8.
Flaky Pie Crust
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. butter, chilled – you could also use chilled coconut oil, lard or shortening
1 T. cider vinegar
4-5 T. cold water
Combine flour and salt and cut in butter. Toss in vinegar and water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together. Use a fork to toss the ingredients together and as soon as the mixture holds together stop adding water. Makes 2. Chill well before using.
Chicken Florentine Soup
This soup is warm and comforting. It was a nice choice for an unseasonably chilly evening. It was one of those spur of the moment recipes that really exceeded expectations. I just had a few ingredients to start with- one of those times when you look through the fridge for inspiration and get lucky.
I knew I was making soup, and that I had chicken and chicken stock. Adding onions and carrots to soup- pretty standard for me. I’ve been on a spinach kick lately so that seemed like a natural addition as well. Found a few mushrooms I’d forgotten about, and put them in, too.
For some reason it was such a perfect combination. I love when it works that way. I am also happy when I remember to write down what I did so I can make it again someday- and share the recipe with all of you. Since the soup has spinach as a central ingredient, I decided to call it Chicken Florentine Soup. So here is the recipe.
Chicken Florentine Soup
2 T. oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
6-8 cups chicken stock
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed – I used thighs
1-2 c. sliced mushrooms – I used the baby Bellas
8 oz. fresh spinach, washed well
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce
Heat oil in soup pot and cook onion until tender. Add carrot and cook a few minutes more. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook 10 minutes longer. Add spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings and serve. Makes 6 servings
Chicken Florentine Soup
Chicken Florentine Soup
This was one of those spur of the moment recipes that really exceeded expectations. I just had a few ingredients to start with- one of those times when you look through the fridge for inspiration and get lucky. I knew I was making soup and that I had chicken and chicken stock. Adding onions and carrots to soup- pretty standard for me. I’ve been on a spinach kick lately so that seemed like a natural addition as well. Found a few mushrooms I’d forgotten about and put them in, too. For some reason it was such a perfect combination. I love when it works that way. I am also happy when I remember to write down what I did so I can make it again someday- and share the recipe with all of you. So here is the recipe.
Chicken Florentine Soup
2 T. oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
6-8 cups chicken stock
1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed – I used thighs
1-2 c. sliced mushrooms – I used the baby Bellas
8 oz. fresh spinach, washed well
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce
Heat oil in soup pot and cook onion until tender. Add carrot and cook a few minutes more. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook 10 minutes longer. Add spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings and serve. Makes 6 servings
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
I was asked recently for my recipe for chicken noodle soup. I teach several different classes on making soup but it wasn’t in there. That seemed odd. I mean with all the recipes I share you would think I would have posted it somewhere by now. I think the truth is that there really isn’t a recipe. Well, not a recipe I can share in the normal sense. I can guesstimate the amounts of this and that but every batch is a little different. That is part of the fun. The basic ingredients are the same, good stock, cubed chicken, carrots, celery and of course, noodles.
There is one pretty important thing about chicken noodle soup you should know- don’t cook the noodles in the soup. I know that sounds wrong. Trust me, if you cook your noodles in your soup you’ll end up with a goopy mess. Cook your noodles separately and add them when serving the soup. This does two good things. It keeps the noodles from getting overcooked and it lets each person add just the amount of noodles they like. Let’s face it some people just like a few noodles and others prefer a lot. This way each person gets their soup the way they like it.
So for directions here is what I do. I start with homemade chicken stock. Since I made the stock I’ll have the chicken I used to make it. I cube up some of the meat and add it to the stock. I also add some sliced carrots and sliced celery and let them simmer in the soup until tender. I sometimes add other veggies. Green beans or maybe a zucchini. I don’t get too crazy with the veggies here or it will become vegetable soup. I almost always remember to add some parsley. I love fresh ground pepper, too. Don’t put too much stuff in – you will be adding noodles after all. I cook my noodles and when the soup is ready to serve I warm them up a little- often just in a bowl in the microwave. That way they won’t cool down your soup. For little kids leave the noodles cold- they normally like their soup a little cooler. I ladle the soup into bowls and put the noodles on the table so everybody can add their own. Seems to work out pretty well.
My Mother was so funny when eating this soup. She had to have it come out “even”. She’d be nearly finished and realized she was out of noodles- so she would add a few. But then she needed more broth so she would add more of that. This went on several times. At the end she always insisted she only had one bowl.
