Here is a nice soup dish that is easy to make and great on a cold winter day. I invented it yesterday. You will be the second party to partake of it. First, go to the store and buy: A bottle of Ragu sauce. (The Alfredo sauce is tempting? Okay, buy that instead.) Four cans of chicken broth or 2 cans of chicken broth and 2 cans of vegetarian broth. Decisions, decisions, decisions! A bag of those little carrots from the produce section A cauliflower head Some broccoli Garlic Fresh or canned mushrooms (fresh are best) Chicken whole legs including thigh and leg, or just thighs, or just legs, or buy the whole chicken. Just make sure you have some brown meat in there somewhere. More decisions! Boil the chicken in half of the chicken broth. Dont get it so hot that everything boils away. A gentle boil, my dear! Note: Did you remember to remove the skin and fat from the chicken before you put it in the pot? (Dont burn yourself when you take the chicken out to remove the skin. Well the skin is easier to remove from hot chicken.) When the chicken is completely cooked (it doesnt take that long), remove it from the pot and drop in the carrots. You get to decide how many. Add the rest of the chicken or vegetarian broth. Leter boil! Remove the meat from the chicken bones. Suck the extra meat off the bones and lick your fingers. Delicious! Youve got time to cool the chicken before you remove the meat. Oh, I should have told you that sooner. After the carrots have boiled for ten minutes or so, add the cauliflower and the broccoli. Now dont just chuck a whole head of cauliflower into the pot. It will make a big splash. Cut off what cauliflower you need, chop it down a bit, and add the pieces to the pot. Do the same with the broccoli. Watch your fingers! Did you remember to put a clove of garlic in the pot? Well, you can do it now. Its not too late. Okay, chop it up or squish it if you want to. Drop the chicken meat into the pot. When the vegetables are cooked but not too soft, add the fresh or canned mushrooms. You can fry them first if you like. If you use fresh mushrooms, and you should if you can, make sure you wash them and slice them before cooking. I know its tempting for mushroom lovers to just throw them in the pot. Okay, just throw them in the pot. If you already had added the mushrooms, thats okay too. Who knows when the time is right for adding mushrooms? I dont. Just make sure they get in there at some point. Now you should have a wonderful soup. The bright orange carrots should be looking pretty with the green broccoli and the white cauliflower. Now is the time to add the Ragu or Alfredo Sauce. You can preheat the Ragu or Alfredo Sauce but why would you do that? It will dirty another pan. However, you do want every drop of that Ragu or Alfredo, dont you? Dump the Ragu or Alfredo into the pot and then use some soup broth to dilute the rest of the Ragu or Alfredo that clings to the bottle. Swish it around and get that Ragu or Alfredo into the pot. Stir the pot. Turn the pot down to a simmer. Oh, just turn it off if you are in a hurry. Break out the bowls. Make some toast to dip in the soup. Eat Up! |
