CREAMY CRACK CHICKEN SOUP
PREP TIME
15 MINS
COOK TIME
30 MINS
TOTAL TIME
45 MINS
INGREDIENTS
1 cut bacon (diced)
3 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
1 medium-sized white onion (diced)
2 stalks celery (diced)
2 carrots (diced)
5 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
5 cups fresh chicken broth (from stewing your chicken)
1 package powdered Ranch Dressing
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder or Ancho chili powder (Pendery’s makes a really good
Ancho Chili Powder)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
2 large chicken breasts plus 2 chicken thighs (cooked with bone-in and skin-
on/stewed and shredded)
1 cup sour cream (regular, not light)
8-ounce package of cream cheese (softened and cubed)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
2 cups baby spinach (roughly chopped)
2 green onions (green stems chopped for garnish)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Get out a big pot and throw the bone-in-skin-on chicken breasts and thighs
into the pot and cover with some water. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and stew
your chicken over a medium-high heat and cook for about 30-35 minutes
until done. After about 15 or 20 minutes of boiling, you may need to add
another cup or two of water. Once it is done, pull the meat out of the pot
and set it aside to cool. SAVE THE RICH CHICKEN BROTH IN THE POT FOR
LATER! Then, remove the skin and bones and shred the cooled meat and set
aside.
2. Now, get large Dutch oven. Fry up the diced bacon over a medium heat.
Then, once it’s done, remove it from the pot onto a plate with some paper
towel and set it aside.
3. Add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven with the bacon drippings
and once it’s frothy, get a wooden spoon and stir it together with the bacon
drippings, scraping up all those tasty drippings. Then, toss in the diced
onions, celery, and carrots and sauté until softened and the onion is
translucent. Now, add the freshly chopped garlic and stir around for
another minute or so. (you don’t want it to brown!)
4. Next, add the chicken broth (you can use a slotted spoon and make sure
there’s no extra loose skin or bones in the broth). Stir around a minute,
then add the packet of Ranch Dressing, the black pepper, the chili powder
and salt. Stir that around a minute, and as it all warms up, stir in the freshly
chopped parsley, your shredded chicken, the sour cream and cubed cream
cheese. Keep cooking for a few minutes until the cream cheese melts. You
will have to use a whisk, at this point, to get the cream cheese to blend into
the mixture. I just use an hand EMULSIFIER, at this point because it does
the job so much better and makes it all creamy.
5. Now add the bacon (minus a teaspoon or so reserved for garnish at the
end), the grated sharp cheddar cheese (minus a teaspoon or so of the
cheese for garnish, too), and the fresh spinach. Stir this around until the
cheese is melted and the spinach is wilted. Now, taste it to see if you want
more salt or pepper or Ancho chili powder.
6. Serve your fabulous soup up in some big bowls and garnish with a few
sprinkles of bacon and grated cheddar cheese. YUM! ‘Cause this stuff is
really good!
Comments