from the barn to the table

i've been cooking quite a bit later, experimenting with different recipes.

my latest venture was chicken poblano chowder. yummy. this recipe (see below) makes a ton so be prepared to throw a big dinner party with this as the main dish. or you can follow in my steps and freeze the majority of it for later consumption.

enjoy!

first step: grill some chicken breasts

simmer simmer

the final product

i used a paula deen recipe for the basis of this soup but added some extra ingredients, subtracted some original ingredients and just messed with it until i got a final product that was muy tasty.

chicken poblano chowder (recipe yields about 14 servings)


ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 large carrots (diced)
2 large onions (diced)
3 stalks of celery (diced)
1 large bulb of garlic (think 7-10 cloves) (minced)
2 larger poblano peppers (diced)
1 teaspoon of salt (maybe a pinch more. i lurve salt)
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cube of chicken bouillon granules (= to 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
3 quarts of chicken broth
3 cups of grilled chicken (cut into generous chunks)
2 cups of potatoes (i use the frozen breakfast potato hashbrown chunks)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of heavy cream


directions:
heat the olive oil in a large stockpot (i used the awesome le creuset in lime green, in case you were wondering) over medium heat (you don't want the oil sizzling and spitting at you). add the onions, celery, carrots, poblanos, potatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, & cumin. saute until veggies soften (about 10 minutes). add the chicken bouillon and stir to incorporate.  add the chicken broth and cook for around 10 minutes. stir in the chicken and cook until the chicken is heated through (around 7-10 minutes). 


do this next step while you are letting the chicken warm its bones in the soup: melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium low heat (you don't want the butter or this mixture to brown). add the flour and stir (i used a whisk) to combine. let this mixture cook for around 4 minutes (you don't want that raw flour taste), whisking or stirring frequently. after flour is cooked through, ladle in 1 cup of the hot soup liquid from your stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly (this is kind of like making that italian rice that you have to stir and add liquid to frequently. the name of which has conveniently escaped me at this moment). you will add 2 more cups of the liquid (one at a time), making sure each is incorporated into the mixture before adding the next cup.  when this is complete, pour the mixture from the skillet into the stockpot and whisk to blend. stirring frequently, let the stockpot liquid & goodies cook for 5 minutes longer. remove the pot from the heat when these 5 minutes are up and stir in the heavy cream.


congratulations! your soup is ready to go. ladle into a bowl (or bowls) and grate some of your favorite cheese on top. final step: ENJOY!