Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 cleaned and trimmed leek, sliced
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup lowfat half and half
1.5 pounds yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn

directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Stir in onions, carrots, celery, leeks, salt and pepper, tossing to coat, then let cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in flour. Stir well to distribute the flour throughout the vegetables and coat them, then cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring to create somewhat of a roux and thickening agent. Most of the flour will stick to the vegetables, but you do want it to turn a slightly golden color and smell a bit nutty. (ha... that sounds interesting.)

At this point, use a biscuit cutter (or even a knife) and cut 12 "biscuits" out of your thawed puff pastry sheet. Place them on a baking sheet (brushing with some beaten egg if desired) and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Add in potatoes, chicken stock and half and half to the soup, stirring and allowing the mixture to come to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low, add in chicken, peas and corn and cover, simmering for 10-15 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with puff pastry on top!

Note: you can definitely use heavy cream or regular half and half (it will probably be even more delicious) in place of the low fat half and half. you can also use a mixed corn + peas blend if you have one, I just happened to have separate bags of organic peas and corn, which is why I separated them. you can also cube the chicken instead of shredding. finally, to reheat, add to a saucepan and add a little liquid (I do a bit of both stock/half and half or milk) and heat over low heat, stirring.