I come bearing soup!

So I'm back and with a vengeance. Or soup. I'm back and with a soupy vengeance!

It is that time of year again. When the world cools down and we can enjoy open window weather and the smell of fall setting in. And nothing says fall like a nice big bowl of soup.

My dad is a good cook and one of my favorite meals of his is his chicken and potato soup. It is seriously amazing and perfect on cold days. Deciding that I needed some in the very near future, I gave my dad a call and asked for his recipe. It is all pretty simple, very straight forward...and so good.

First you take 5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and place them in a pot with water about an inch above the chicken. Season it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Then, in true southern fashion, toss in a stick of butter! Cover the pot and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and let it cook slowly for an hour to and hour and a half. Once the time is up, remove the chicken from the stock and set aside.

Add your potatoes, carrots, onion, and celery. Or whatever veggies you want. Though, the potatoes are kind of key in Chicken and Potato soup. Give it all a good stir and divert your attention to the chicken as the vegetables start to enjoy their bath.

Shred it all up until you get a huge mountain of delicious chickeny goodness. And add right back to the pot.

Give it all a good stir, cover the pot, and let it all simmer and cook for about another 30 minutes. While it does that, make yourself a concoction of flour and milk. Dad usually does two heaping tablespoons of flower and then probably 3/4c milk.

My handy-dandy trick is putting it inside of a mason jar and shaking it like a Yoo-Hoo. Then letting the jar sit out to come to room temperature or close to it. Almost like tempering it. When the veggies are cooked, give the jar another good shake and then add it to the pot and giving it all another good stir. I ended up adding a little more milk, just so I could get it to look right. Let it cook a bit longer and then you're ready.

Pour yourself a bowl and enjoy!  Of course, in dad's directions, he added something about making cornbread at some point. I didn't do this because I have to be in the mood for cornbread. That and I just didn't feel like it. Or had ingredients for it.

The soup was AMAZING and just what I needed to hit the spot. I'm telling you, it is the perfect fall soup. And if you wanted to substitute the potatoes for noodles, I wouldn't blame you. It would make amazing Chicken Noodle soup.

To be completely honest, dad didn't give me exact measurements on ingredients, so I'm just trying to figure it out on my own as I go. Some of it can definitely be left to your tastes.

Blue's Chicken and Potato Soup

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves.
4-5 potatoes, skinned and cut into cubes.
1/2 c baby carrots, cut into pieces.
1 onion, cut into wedges.
2 celery stalks, chopped into pieces.
Salt and pepper.
1/2 to 1 tbs of onion powder.
1/2 to 1 tbs of garlic powder.
1tbs of Italian Seasoning.
2 heaping tbs of flour.
3/4c milk.
1 stick of butter.

Place chicken in a stock pot, covering it with water, up to an inch above the meat. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian Seasoning and butter to the pot and over. Bring water to boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Cut up all vegetables and set aside. Remove chicken and set aside to cool a bit. Add vegetables, keeping the soup on medium heat. Shred chicken and add to pot. Stir and cover. Cook for 1/2 hour.
In a mason jar (or other mixing device), combine flour and milk. Shake/mix. Let stand til vegetables are cooked. Add to pot and stir. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Enjoy!