Soup of the Day

As promised, here is the first recipe. I am always on the lookout for new soup recipes and here is one recently discovered from the Taste of Home cookbook I've had since forever.

I modified the recipe just a bit, but couldn't think of a better name, so don't judge the soup by its "cheesy" name.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1-2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup frozen supersweet corn

1) Saute onions, carrots and celery in olive oil in a med-large pot for 10 mins until onions are translucent. Add potatoes, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover pot and simmer for 15 mins or until potatoes are tender.
2) When potatoes are almost tender, melt butter in medium saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese.
3) Add milk/cheese sauce, chicken and corn to the pot of veggies and mix well, Heat over medium heat until heated through.

I bought one of the yummy rotisserie chickens from Costco, cut all the meat off and then boiled the bones and skin that was left with 1/2 onion, some salt & pepper, a chx bouillon cube and a bay leaf for about 30 minutes. I strained out all the bones and onions and it made the perfect amount of delicious broth for the soup.

**To my family who are reading this--when I ate this soup it reminded me of the cheese soup mom used to make on Christmas eve(hers didn't have chicken, though and it could easily be left out). In fact, I thought to make it taste more like that soup, cooked cauliflower should be added the next time I make it.