Cream Cheese Chicken and Veggie Soup

This soup was amazing.  A soup I could eat for breakfast.  I ate the leftovers for lunch and dinner for a few days, and loved every minute.  The ingredients in this recipe are perfect, and things that I constantly have on hand, which makes it even easier for me to make up!  I love that it's made creamy with cream cheese, instead of half and half, or cream.  I don't usually have those on hand.  Or, if I do, they've often already gone bad from being open too long sitting in my fridge.

I took this soup 1 step further, and put about 1/3 of it in my blender and gave it even more of a creamy texture that I love!

CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN AND VEGGIE SOUP
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
Adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• Butter for sauteing 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3-5 potatoes, diced (I used an assorted bunch I had on hand--red, yukon, sweet, purple)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
• 1-2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper
• Optional: grated cheese to top

Saute the celery and carrots with some butter until they're soft.  Add the potatoes and chicken broth.  If the veggies aren't completely covered, add a little bit of water.  Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and flour until smooth.  Add to the soup and mix it together well.  Cook and stir for about 5minutes, until it starts to thicken.  Soften the cream cheese in a bowl in the microwave until it's VERY soft.  Add to the soup and stir until the lumps are gone.  At this point, if you'd like, you can take out about a 1/3 of the soup and blend it up.  Add the blended portion back to the soup, and then add your chicken and seasonings.  Heat through, and serve with some cheese on top.


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