Cheesy Chicken Soup

 These cooler days are getting me thinking of soups for the chill. One of the family favorites is this Cheesy Chicken Soup. The history of this recipe comes from the old cafeteria at Bishop Clarkson where Brenda and I went to school for nursing. The cafeteria was full of cooks and chefs that actually made most of the food on the premises and offered staff a discount. Those days are long gone.  I always liked the soup and honestly have no idea if this anything like it but we have made it for years and it hits the spot with a nice crusty French baguette or biscuit. 

I first made some chicken stock since all the spatchcocked chickens I made this summer had the backbones added to my stock bag in the freezer. Combined with a celery stem and leaves, carrots, onion and garlic in the pressure cooker, I have a nice stock in no time. The actual stock recipe is elsewhere on this blog. 

Ingredient list (makes 5 quarts)

1 Rotisserie chicken or the chicken you may have used to make stock, shredded

2 zucchini halved and cut into 1/4 inch moons

Bag of baby carrots, you might want to steam these a bit to soften them

2 Quarts of stock

1 quart of milk, plus 

1t Lawry's seasoned salt

1t Dry mustard

1/2 pound of cheese like Velveeta

1/2 c Parmesan 

I made the soup today without a roux and flour but you are more than welcome to start that way if you like it thick and creamy. I like a bit thinner and creamy so I add a bit of Wondra at the end to achieve the consistency I like. 

Heat the broth first and add the carrots to cook them a bit. Add the Velveeta in chunks and allow to melt, stirring to keep it from scorching. I added my milk, I use skim but whatever you have is fine. Let it simmer and just begin to boil but watch the heat so it does not scorch on the bottom. Add the seasonings and parmesan. You can add the zucchini and chicken to the pot. If its too thin start sprinkling in Wondra until it gets to where you like it,  Verify you seasoning adding pepper if desired and more salt although mine was plenty salty with the cheeses. I added more milk to fill my 5 quart saucepan. Pretty tasty,  easy soup. 

Life Changes and Cooking Like Crazy these days....

 So....now that I am retired and have my daily chores to keep the household running, I also have a little more time to cook and experiment a bit.

I fielded some Hatch Chili peppers and we love to stuff them with shrimps and bread crumbs. Lately though I have been experimenting with various meat fillings. Last night I used hamburger.  Actually I went to the store early and picked up a few Hatch's to use for dinner last night along with the last Poblanos from the garden. Instead of stuffing the peppers because they were not as large as I like, I decided to make a lasagna out of everything with a nice Green Poblano Sauce. 

Hatch Chili Lasagna

So first things first, Peppers under the broiler with a shmear of olive oil to blacken the skin, turn and blacken the other side, about 4 minutes total. Watch like a hawk. Once thoroughly blackened, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam so the skins can be scraped off. I used 3 large Hatch chilis but would have used six if I was thinking right, 3 for each layer, 

For the filling:

One pound 85% ground beef.

One medium onion diced

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 to 3/4 cup cream

3/4 cup Monterrey Jack

Salt and Pepper

Saute the beef till brown and crumbly then add the onion and garlic till the onion is translucent. Add the cream and cheese and stir until all is well coated. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside. Use pan for the sauce. 

For the Creamy sauce:

3   4 inch Poblano peppers, blackened and skinned

1   2 inch Jalapeno diced  Remove seeds and membranes to adjust heat but I left them and it had a nice bite. 

3/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2

2 T flour

2 T butter

1 cup milk

2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

2 slices of Processed Swiss or 1/2 cup you favorite white cheese like a sharp cheddar or Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack. 

I used my immersion blender and blended the Poblano and Jalapeno peppers with 3/4 c 1/2 and 1/2 until a nice puree formed. Great green color. 

To the pan add the butter and melt then add the Flour. Cook the roux for a minute or two then add milk and whisk out lumps and cook till sauce thickens. Add the garlic to perfume the sauce. Add the pepper mix and cook till it begins to thicken again. If it needs help I always like to use Wondra to move it along. Add the cheese and allow to melt, salt and pepper to check seasoning. Remove the garlic. Set aside.

For the Lasagna:

No Boil Lasagna Noodles, wetted  (9 total)

2 Cups Monterrey Jack, divided

3 Hatch Chili skinned and opened flat, seeds rinsed out

Filling and Sauce from above. 

In an 8 x 11 Ceramic casserole dish, sprayed with Cooking spray, later 3 Noodles to cover bottom. 

Spoon half the filling, top with 1/4 of the shredded cheese, and the Hatch chilis, Repeat another layer, just sauce and cheese then top with remaining noodles,  Pour sauce over all and top with remianing cheese. 

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes covered then uncover for 15 minutes till brown and bubbly. Let sit for 5 minutes so its easier to serve.Cut into 4 or 6 servings

 Top servings with Sour Cream and Salsa. Makes 4 servings.