Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Someone once said, "Chicken soup is good for the soul.", and I have to say, that I agree. Chicken soup is warm, comforting, and full of "Make you feel better about anything" goodness. It's one of the very first things I think about when fall arrives and the weather cools and noses start to get stuffed up. I'm pretty sure chicken soup is sort of magical.

We needed some magic last night, for sure. We had a rough start that morning and it really just set a bad tone for the day. I had, thankfully, made some chicken stock overnight in our crock pot and had some leftover chicken from the previous night's dinner. It was as if the universe had perfectly aligned... I knew what I had to do! It was definitely a "Chicken Soup" night! And not just any chicken soup, oh no! It was a "Chicken Pot Pie Soup" sort of night.

Here is my method:

2-3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized chunks
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2-3 ribs of celery, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup peas
5 cups of chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper

Over med-high heat, melt your butter and toss in the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and saute until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add in the flour and continue to stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. It's going to seize up and that is okay. Just don't let it burn! Add in the chicken stock and stir until it starts to thicken and bubble. Toss in the peas, bay leaf and thyme, reduce the heat to med-low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Stir in the milk and cream and add the salt and pepper. Allow it to heat through and serve with hot out of the oven biscuits.