SW: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Don't judge me, but I hate crusts. I always have. I make myself eat sandwich crusts because my mom always insisted the vitamins and minerals of the bread was in the crust. I'm not entirely sure that's true now...but something about it has stuck with me. But pie crust? No thank you! If I'm eating a pie, occasionally I'll suck the crust down with the filling because I'm either lazy or worried that people will judge me. But in the privacy of my own home, I usually toss that junk into the garbage. Sorry starving children in Africa. I did not eat my crust. I wasted. But c'mon! It's crust! It's ewwwwww-y!

So...when I first went to Jason's Deli and discovered they had a chicken pot pie soup (teehee, no crust!) I about died. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a JD's close to you. Maybe you are like me and drool at the thought of their chicken pot pie soup. (We're talking copious amounts of saliva, here!)

But when I moved to the midwest, I discovered that my soup need could no longer be met. I had to improvise. Thankfully, the internet can tell you pretty much anything you need to know, and this recipe had already figured out a pretty tasty substitute to squelch my needs. (I use the first recipe, so I can't vouch for the yumminess of the easier version.) Of course, I needed to add my own brilliance to the mix, and the resultant product I'm about to show you certainly got my vote. I've never compared it side-by-side to Jason's, but I have this sneaky suspicion that my version would win in a popularity contest.

A bit of warning--I do bake this, and it gets really thick, so you could argue whether it's still a soup or if it's transformed into a casserole. I don't care either way. It's yum, and that's the important thing.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 small russet potatoes, cubed
• pot pie veggies in whatever quantity makes you sing, i.e. corn, carrots, peas, etc.
• 3-4 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1 cup flour
  
• 2 tbsp. chicken bouillon, ground up (or, my favorite, Better than Bouillon, which requires no grinding!)
  
• 2 cups-ish chicken broth
• 4 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 cans Pillsbury Grands Jr. biscuits (I use buttermilk flavor)

1) Cook your potatoes until soft. I did cook mine in chicken broth, though instead of adding water, I just added enough chicken broth to cover them. When they are done, drain and set aside.
2) Over medium-low heat, saute garlic in olive oil for thirty seconds in a large soup pot, then add your seasonings and your flour. Create a roux and let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If you like more soupy-chicken pot pie soup, cut your flour in half. I like mine really thick, yum!)
3) Add bouillon and chicken broth to the roux, which will form a really thick goop.
4) At this point, I pre-heat my oven to 400 degrees and set aside 2 9x9 inch pans for future use.
5) Slowly add 4 cups of milk to the soup pot.
6) Then add chicken and veggies one at a time. Let everything get acquainted and comfortable.
7) Now, split the soup pot mix to both dishes and pop the biscuits open. Spread 9 biscuits in 3 rows across the top of the dish. You may be wondering, what do I do with that 10th biscuit? Tear it into fourths and plug the small holes in the middle. (Don't mind my shadow on the below pic.)


8) Pop both dishes in the oven and cook until the biscuits are golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.


9) Cool 5 minutes, then devour!