A Half-Ass Pantry Recipe: Chipotle Chicken Soup

It has come to my attention, in the form of cracking myself up, that I am tremendously more entertaining in type than in person and furthermore, that that humor is amplified with the help of some big kid grape juice.

So I've started blogging while cooking.  And cooking always comes with grape juice.  As I mentioned, I've stopped freaking out and moving on to the next recipe just because I'm missing an ingredient.  It definitely goes against my OCD rules-were-made-for-a-reason typical mentality, and I'm kind of starting to dig it.  Have the hubs to thank for this as he has certainly taught me that things don't always go according to plan.  ;)

First up: 

 Chipotle Chicken Soup

Hubster approval rating: 9/10
Servings - 8-10
Freezeable - Yes

Original recipe discovered on Pinterest, stolen from here: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/01/16/chipotle-chicken-and-corn-chowder/

Original Ingredients:

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
6 small red potatoes, peeled and diced small
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 (30-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

My Subs:

• Yellow bell pepper instead of red - I think they're sweeter and that's that.  Nobody likes green though, don't go there.
• Cheap dried italian herbs - nobody has dried oregano and dried thyme separately - what a ridiculous waste of space that would be.
• 15-oz can of sweet corn instead of 30-oz, because I can't read
• Heavy cream and more chicken stock for whole milk - we'll get there in a minute

Directions:

1. Remove one chile from the can of chiles and mince it. Remove 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce and set it aside to be used later. You can save the remaining chiles and sauce for another use (or you can just chuck them because it's $1.29 and freezer space is worth more than a creepy baggy of chiles.)

2. Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium heat.  Add all the fun peppers, cumin, dried herbs, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the peppers become soft. Add the garlic, stir and cook for an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant. 

You know the kitchen sink, cheap-o Italian herbs?  I added bunches.  Hubster doesn't like herbs.  But guess what, Hubster refuses to read my blog... in go big bunches. 

3. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook for 1 minute, or until there is no longer any visible raw flour. Slowly stir in the milk and chicken broth, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.

I'm ready to prep the milk and chicken stock by combining...

What the?  Grocery store shopping fail.  Although the 1% was clearly my attempt at being healthier than the whole milk, this cannot be delicious.  It called for 3 cups whole milk and 2 cups chicken stock. Substitution: 1/2 cupish chunkier milk (heavy cream) and 4 cups chicken stock.  Done.

4. Add the potatoes, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.

 

5. Add the shredded cheeses a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is completely melted.

6. Finally, stir in the chicken, both cans of corn, lime juice and the reserved 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce.  Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the soup is completely heated through.  Serve immediately.

Somebody forgot that the chicken probably needed to be cooked first...  If this unfortunate timing debacle happens to you, just lower the heat on the soup and stall 15 min while you panic chop and saute chicken breasts in a little EVOO (that's right, I get rights to stupid sayings like that by nature of my name...)

7.  Doctor it up with hot sauce, extra lime juice, tortilla chips (or Fritos... teehee), cilantro - whatever your inner Mexican heart desires.

 

Delicious.  It was actually awesome with the thinner broth due to excess chicken stock, I think.  And it kept well in the fridge for the next day.  I froze a bunch too, because this recipe makes about 8-10 servings.  I realize that picture looks like porridge, but I swear it was great.