Chicken Pot Pie Soup

**Originally posted at Joy in These Moments

Thursday afternoon found my little town dodging sleet and slick roads. It certainly made for an interesting early dismissal at school (Administration decided to dismiss at 1:00), but it was perfect timing. By 2:00, the sleet was coming down hard and the roads were getting sketchy. By 3:00, we already had 2 inches of snow on the ground!
I’m so glad we went to school, even in the midst of an inclement weather dismissal. That just means one less day we have to make up at the end. Friday, however, was a snow day – I would have been home anyway due to a late birthday celebration with John. But, the snow day allowed me to keep on of my personal days. That’s always a bonus!
Obviously, a snow storm requires special food, right?  At least in my book.
I’m pretty bad, really, when it comes to being snowed in. I foresee apocalyptic proportions of snow. And apocalyptic levels of snow requires the right kinds of sustenance. No bread, milk, and eggs for us. No sir. Those are the amateur’s rations.
I came home with donut holes, apple pie, ingredients for snow ice cream, and comfort foods like Poppyseed Chicken and Chicken Pot Pie Soup. I really had no excuse for the apple pie, aside from my seeing it and wanting it. Impulse buying at it’s finest. It was okay, though. I mean, you have to have rich, delicious, make-you-warm-down-to-your-toes comfort food when you are surrounded by a Winter Wonderland.

I had been searching on Pinterest for this very thing – a warm, yummy soup that I just couldn’t get enough of. I came across this recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Soup. It was so yummy and filling.

We polished off the whole pot. No left overs! It was that good.
(And so that John and I don’t sound like absolute hogs, his mom and sister were visiting when I made the soup, so we did have help putting the soup away.)

Here is my adapted recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Soup.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cups gluten-free chicken stock + 4 Tbsp water
4 cups milk
2 large celery stalk, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (10 oz) package frozen mixed vegetables
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 tsp Thyme
2 chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste

Directions:
Whisk together 1 1/2 Tbsp of cornstarch and 4 Tbsp of water into a slurry and set aside for later.
Whisk together 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch and 4Tbsp water into a slurry and set aside for later.
Combine milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add chopped celery, onion, potatoes and frozen vegetables. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
While vegetables are cooking, prepare the chicken breast. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook on indoor grill or pan fry until done – I used my George Foreman grill. Let cool for 5 minutes, then dice.
Add diced chicken and thyme to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk in cornstarch slurry slowly. Depending on the amount of liquid in your pot now, it may or may not take the full amount. Eyeball it and stop adding the slurry when you achieve the desired thickness.
**Remember that cornstarch gets thicker as it sits. **
I added a bit more thyme than the original recipe stated. I love my herbs, so I knew a pinch was not going to suffice. I did use the 3 potatoes that the recipe called for as well, but it was way too many for us. So, in my adapted version, I took the potatoes down to 2. I also added more celery.
In the future, I will leave out the mushrooms. They weren’t bad, but I prefer my pot pies without and the same apparently goes for the soup. I’ll also add a few more mixed vegetables.

Any good snow day recipes to share?