Dedicated to a Friend

Story time! Pull up a chair and settle in for a tail of yesteryear. What a great way to start a Tuesday.

My senior year of high school we had a huge snow storm on a Tuesday that caused the entire town to rush to Kroger for bread and milk because white death was coming. After spending our afternoon teaching forth graders the dangers of inhaling spray paint and taking candy from strangers, (our area's Say No program at its finest,) we were greeted in the parking lot by four inches of snow. Completely unaware, unprepared, and thrilled, Alex and I trudged through the wonderland to retrieve our cars and, unable to get home himself, Alex ended up at my house. We then spent the evening talking about what we would do with our new found freedom (since our district, though stingy when awarding snow days, had already cancelled school for the next day,) ignoring homework,  and playing in the kitchen. I swear one of the many reasons why he and I got along so well is due to our ability to eat everything in sight. I will never forget how long we worked over that little pot of soup, so I wanted to share with you the inspiration behind making this soup. I was feeling particularly nostalgic when I woke up, completely unaware and thrilled, to four inches of snow and just so happened to have this soup in the fridge.

So here is how you can relive a snow day from yesteryear.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

2 TB olive oil

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribbed celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium potato, diced

2 poached chicken breasts, shredded

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

6 cups chicken stock (bonus points if it's homemade)

3 TB cornstarch, mixed into a slurry with 3 TB hot chicken stock

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add veggies and cook 10-ish minutes, or until just tender. Add the chicken, herbs, and stock. Mix and allow to come to a boil. Mix cornstarch and hot broth in a coffee mug, then whisk into boiling soup. Bring soup to a simmer and allow to cook for an hour, or until all the flavors have melded together.

Chicken Pot Pie soup topped with Ranch and Dill oyster crackers

Same soup, but served with crusty French bread - much like what Alex and I would make panini's out of.

This blog post is dedicated to my life long friend, Alex. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I wish you the best!