Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

My sister Natalie has a great recipe I'd like to share. I tried it at her house last week when I took my mom and my kids up to visit her. Nat fed us this soup and a great salad for lunch. Here is the soup recipe:

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup

1 lb. chicken
1 onion, diced
1-2 T. butter
2 cups sliced carrots
4-5 potatoes, diced small
1 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
8 oz. package cream cheese

1. Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When the chicken is cool, shred.
2. Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of broth or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor. (I add 4 bouillon cubes.) Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.
3. Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Soften cream cheese in microwave then add to soup in little pieces and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Note to Lacie B.: Make sure you change this recipe 10% so that it can be considered your own.

Food for Thought

I had a stellar garden last year. I took this gardening class and did about everything the fellow said to do. (That fertilizer stuff is awesome.) I was leaving bags of homegrown produce on neighbor's doorsteps in the middle of the night. I hope I wasn't a nuisance. But, really, it was out of control. I had so much fun growing my own food, that I am stepping up my efforts this year. I am now the proud owner of an orchard. (I have 2 apple and 2 peach trees. I plan to soon own a hardy almond tree.) I'm pruning and spraying and having a great time with it.

This leads me to ramble on food. I've been reading this book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. It is a very interesting book that has made me think differently about the food I tend to eat everyday.

These are my thoughts:

I need to eat more plants, especially the ones I grow myself.

I need to eat less processed food.

The typical Western diet is a relatively new thing, and our bodies are not adapted to all that sugar and white flour. No wonder just the thought of eating a glazed donut gives me a headache.


So if I can leave anything with you today it would be this- plant a row of peas. It is fun to do with your kids, and makes you feel healthy.

All of this healthy talking didn't keep me from asking Josh to bring me home a treat from the gas station convenience store. He left two minutes ago. I hope he either brings a Chic-o-stick or some Doritos. Have you ever eaten a Chic-o-stick? Dang.