Chicken Chowder

2-3 chicken breasts
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 medium sized potatoes, cubed
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
Bacon bits (optional)
1 cup cooked orzo, or rice
4 to 5 cups whole milk
Salt and pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a 350 degree oven, roast the chicken breasts on a cookie sheet until cooked through. Allow to cool and cut into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, shallot and garlic and saute until vegetables are soft. Add the potatoes and stir. Add the flour to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for about 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, stirring to get out all the lumps from the flour. The milk should just cover the potatoes completely. Season with salt and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil until potatoes are soft, like for mashed potatoes. Turn off the heat.
With a stick blender, or in a regular blender, blend the soup until it is slightly chunky, and thick. Add the chicken, bacon bits (if using) and orzo and stir to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk if the soup is too thick.
Serve hot.

*Yet again, I was left scratching my head for what to make with chicken. I was in the mood to make soup, so I decided to make a variation of my clam chowder with chicken. It worked pretty good! Believe it or not, I did not use the bacon, but adding bacon would give it a more smoky, hearty flavor. The orzo adds a nice texture to the soup and makes it more like a stew. One thing to note though, the soup thickens as it sits, so go ahead and add more milk if you need to thin it out. This is a heart warming soup that you will love as much as we did!


Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. Genesis 1:29