Is It SOUP Yet? Tell Me YOUR Favorite...

One of the things I really enjoy, is cooking!

I currently live an the Pacific Northwest, and today, after checking the weather report, it appears as though we will be getting a little bit cooler in the next few days. Now, I get that it IS the season for cold, however, if you happened to notice my last post, I am currently living in a travel trailer (which I am now planning to sell). That was by choice, by the way. I was trying a little experiment with myself, attempting to live with less, making some personal changes, coming to terms with my past; That type of stuff.

So, oddly, this year here in Oregon seems to have been slightly dryer, and slightly warmer so far, than what would be considered "normal" by the locals; But I was getting used to the idea of spring coming a little early, because this girl, was freezing her ass of in this damn trailer!! Being from Southern California, I'm used to much warmer, sunnier weather for sure!

Anyway, knowing that the next few nights may be dipping down into the 20's, and maybe low 30's if I'm lucky, I decided it would be a perfect time to have some SOUP on hand!

I love soup, and I love making different types of soup. Soup is so versatile, so warming, and so easy; Not to mention it always takes me to a nice safe, cozy place in my head as well as my belly.

I will rarely follow any type of recipe anymore, unless I'm trying something new or super exotic. For me, that is part of the fun, just creating something from 'nothing' so to speak.

I had a package of frozen, skinless, boneless chicken thighs I had picked up at the market last time I went, so last night I took those out to thaw so I could make my soup today. I had also grabbed a couple different types of frozen mixed vegetables at the market, just for such an occasion.

Now, I don't always use frozen vegetables. As a matter of fact, I prefer fresh whenever possible; But, it is winter, and I am in a small town, and the market here doesn't always have a decent selection. I assume most families here are growing their own for the most part; This is a farming community.

Anyway, thighs always make the best broth if your selecting chicken pieces, as opposed to breasts. A whole chicken would be even better, but, thighs were what I chose.

Part of the fun for me, is using what I have available in my arsenal of ingredients. It's like one of those cooking shows where you are given some various choices of ingredients, and you have to make something out of them all! It's a fun little challenge I like to give myself! I have ended up with some weird concoctions before, but for the most part, my stuff usually turns out really tasty!

So, that being said, the ingredients I used in this particular batch of soup, are slightly different from what I would probably normally use. The end product though, is really what counts.

All I did was take the (6) thighs and cover them with cold water, with an additional couple inches of water over them, salted them, and since I had forgotten to buy a fresh onion, I used about a teaspoon of dehydrated onion flakes. (Always a good pantry item!), and then I simmered them for about 20 minutes.

Pulled them out of the now'broth' and started chopping them up, while I waited for my broth to come back to a slow boil. Once it began to boil, I threw in an envelope, (well, not the actual envelope, just the contents) of Knorr Soup and Dip mix. Now, again, I have NEVER used this for my soups! I had it in my pantry, because I usually use it for my "World Famous Spinach Dip," but I didn't foresee that happening anytime soon, so I decided to use it for added flavor in my soup! The only other spices I used were salt & pepper.

Once the mix was combined into my broth, I then used the entire bag of mixed vegetables, and turned the heat up again to start another soft boil. Once it began to boil, I went ahead and threw the chopped chicken back in there. I let this all gently boil for about 5 or so minutes.

Then I decided, what is chicken and vegetable soup without some noodles? Well, I didn't have 'noodles' per se, but I did have a box of thin spaghetti. So, I took about, oh, a little less than a third from the box, and broke it into smaller pieces, and dropped that into my soup mixture.

But wait! There's more! I had about a third of a bag of baby spinach in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I figured what the hell, and threw the spinach leaves in there too!

Now all this stuff gently boiled for about 7 more minutes, and then I turned the heat off.

I don't play around when it comes to making soup! I make it as a hearty, main-dish, not some wimpy little side thing!
The more I can cram in there the better!

So, here is the finished product!!

Of course I had to try a hot bowl immediately, and it is soooo gooood! I had to have myself another bowl!

Now I will have some soup to keep me warm and fed for the next couple days!

I hope this made you all hungry! Go make some soup!

Thanks all!

PEACE!