Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Nothing says love, warmth, and welcome home quite like a bowl of delicious soup. And this version says all that and more. It's made delightfully creamy with a not so common soup ingredient: cream cheese. And the other great thing about it is that you can personalize to your tastes or to your on-hand ingredients. Got some spinach that needs using up? Pop it on in! Mushrooms? Why not! Bacon, ham, corn? You get the picture! And it's a great non-meat candidate. But that chicken makes it a legit meal to my husband, so in it stays. If you're looking for a no-fail people pleasing bowl of goodness, this is your best bet. Plus the left-overs rock. Gotta love it!

Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Soup

{Recipe source: The Sisters Cafe}

2 T butter

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

3 cups chicken broth

1 lb red potatoes, cut in quarters

1 cup milk

4 T flour

1 8oz package cream cheese (1/3 less fat), very soft

1 lb chicken, cubed and cooked

salt

pepper

dried (or fresh) parsley

Optional: mushrooms, spinach, corn, ham or bacon (in place of chicken)

In large pot melt butter and saute onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk milk and flour vigorously until well blended and non-clumpy. While stirring, pour milk/flour into soup pot and cook about 4 minutes until soup begins to thicken. Add very soft cream cheese into pot a little at time, stirringly thoroughly to remove clumps. Add cooked chicken and heat through. Season with plenty of salt, pepper, and some dried parsley too. Serve hot!