Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I live in Ohio. And its Winter. Enough said?! LOL!

Without fail, every year when winter hits, I end up telling myself and those within ear shot that I "can't wait to get out of here". Yet each year, I find myself still here, suffering through the dreary winter days. Aside from it being cold and having the occasional blizzard, the drearyness is the worst part of it. Today broke a 14 day stretch of having no sun. YUCK.

I wanted to make something like a chicken pot pie but Shawn is on his yearly lenten diet and I don't tend to lean towards heavy, calorie-laden dinners (unless it involves hot sauce and fried chicken). And I didn't feel like devoting a large chunk of my time in the kitchen this weekend.

I ended up landing on the idea of making a soup inspired by the flavors and goodness of chicken pot pie but without all of the unwanted heavy ingredients and time.

You can make substitutions on the vegetables to fit your family's tastes. I'd love to hear what you think about this!!

Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie Soup

(photo courtesy of  www.noblepig.com)

1/3  C. flour

3 C. Chicken Stock

5 C. 2% milk

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced and quartered

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 bag frozen green bean

1 bag frozen corn

2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt, to taste

2 tsp. Herbs De Provence

2 medium to large sized chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces

2 medium to large sized potatoes, cut in small cubes

1) In a bowl, combine 1 cup chicken stock with the flour and whisk until the flour is incorporate. Set Aside.

2) Pour remaining chicken stock and milk into your soup pot. Slowly bring to a boil.

3) Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, frozen vegetables, chicken buillons, herbs and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

4) Partially cover and reduce to simmer on low to medium low until vegetables are tender. 

5) Add potatoes and chicken and simmer on a low boil until potatoes are cooked through and tender. 

6) Slowly whisk in the stock/flour mixture that you set aside in step 1. You may need to add more depending on how thick you like your soup. 

7) Make sure to adjust seasonings to taste prior to serving.