By the raise of hands, anyone else up in here obsessed with all creamy soups?! 🙋Meeeeee! And let me just say, this one totally hits the spot! Creamy, cheesy, bursting with flavor, simmering with spice, and all the chicken and veggies you'd want in a nice, hearty soup.
I personally made this for meal prep, and it worked great! It came out to be the perfect 4 portions for my husband and I to eat throughout the week. However, this meal can totally be made for an easy dinner for your family! Especially because it is SUPER easy to throw together. Just a couple veggies to chop, saute, and throw the rest in the pot to simmer all together and let the flavors marry. So simple, so easy, and SO delicious! Plus, there are a lot of ways to make it fun for kids by adding different toppings: Avocado slices, green onions, sour cream, jalapenos, your favorite shredded cheese (pepper jack is delicious with this!), or even tortilla strips, if you're not following any sort of carb restrictions.
This meal was especially easy to throw together because I used a rotisserie chicken. If you don't love the idea of this and would like to cook your own chicken, all the more power to you! You could even boil the chicken in the broth to give it some flavor, and then add the sauteed veggies in once the chicken has been cooked and shredded. But, like I said, I made this soup for meal prep, and unless I want to cook ALLLLLLLL day long, I have to take a few short cuts here and there! However, I do think rotisserie chickens can be kinda pricey! I am all about saving money!
Not to totally obsess about the chicken, but did you know that Costco sells their rotisserie chicken meat packaged separately?! It comes in a 2 lb package, and it is amazing! It's already taken off of the bones (obviously), and can easily be thrown in the freezer if you don't end up using all 2 lbs in one recipe. AND, it's not too pricey! A 2 lb rotisserie chicken from Smith's costs about $7 or $8. And by the time you tear all the meat off the bone, you don't actually have 2 lbs of meat. The packaged chicken from Costco is about $13 and it's a full 2 lb. I think it's a pretty good deal. And delicious. And easy. Moving on. 😝
The hardest part about this recipe is making sure the cream cheese doesn't stay all chunky when you're adding it to the soup. The best way to do it, I've found, is to mix the cream cheese with some heavy cream. Mix it up until it's as smooth as you can possibly get it. Then, make sure your broth is nice and hot, and start adding the cream cheese mixture in one scoop at a time and stir vigorously until you can't see any more chunks. Repeat until all of the cream cheese is mixed in. It's a great technique. I totally suggest you do it this way. No one likes cream cheese chunks in their creamy soup. We want it smooth, baby!
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| Cream cheese chunks |
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| Cream cheese mixed in |
Now that we've got our spices in there and the soup is simmering away, let's get the recipe going, shall we?! Sheesh.
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lb rotisserie chicken, shredded (or cook your own chicken)
2 green bell peppers, diced small
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1/4 cup pickled sliced jalapenos, roughly chopped (or 1 fresh jalapeno, diced)
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 7 oz can diced green chiles
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 oz cream cheese (I use the whipped kind, it's easier to mix)
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, add bell peppers, onion, jalapenos, garlic, green chiles, and olive oil. Cook on medium high heat for 7-8 minutes, or until onions become translucent and peppers begin to soften.
2. While veggies are cooking, mix cream cheese with heavy cream in a separate bowl. Mix well, trying to make it as smooth as possible. This will help with mixing it into the soup.
3. Once veggies have softened, add chicken broth and shredded chicken to the pot. Turn the heat up almost all the way to high (I turned mine on 8 out of 10), and start adding the cream cheese mixture one scoop at a time, and stir vigorously and continuously until there are no chunks visible in the broth. Then add another scoop and repeat until it is all mixed in, smooth and creamy.
4. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
5. Bring to a bowl and turn heat down to medium-low.
6. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft and broth has slightly thickened.
7. Serve hot! Add toppings, if you'd like, such as green onions, jalapenos, sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado slices, or tortilla strips. Enjoy!!
For more simple, easy, and cheap recipes -- as well as great meal prep ideas -- follow this blog, or follow me on Pinterest! Happy meal prepping!
Love always,
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