Buffalo Chicken Soup

I roast a whole chicken just about every week. I buy the biggest birds I can find and do my best to get two or three or more meals out of the meat. And I always use the carcass to make bone broth. The broth is probably my favorite part of the whole deal, it is so satisfying. And it makes my house smell amazing.

Lately chicken isn't the only thing that has appeared on my menu every week. I have unintentionally created a pattern - pasta on Monday (often large batch with leftovers appearing as lunch through the week), roast chicken on Tuesday, soup on Wednesday, new recipe/experiment on Thursday, pizza on Friday. Sunday we always have brunch after church and leftovers or something super lazy easy for supper. Something Mexican (with beans) or Indian (with lentils) usually appears on Thursday and/or Saturday. I don't always stick to this plan. In fact, it isn't really a "plan" at all, just a pattern I noticed when looking through past menus. But it seems to work well, so I guess I'll let it stay.

I have been craving something "Buffalo" since the Super Bowl and decided to use some leftover chicken (and broth, of course) to try for those flavors in our Wednesday soup. Google gave me lots of inspiration, but I was hungry for a specific sort of flavor combination and I didn't find anything that fit. This post for Buffalo Chicken Corn Chowder with Blue Cheese Gougeres was close, and too pretty too ignore. I had never heard of gougeres (French cheese puffs) and had all the ingredients on hand, so those became our side dish. They will be made again.

The soup as I made it was amazing, but as I was eating it I decided I would tweak a few things next time (and there will be a next time. oh yes.), including leaving out a can of diced tomatoes. They were a bit distracting, and made it feel a bit more like chili than I was hoping. This recipe includes those as yet untested modifications, and all measurements (as usual with my own recipes) are guestimations.

 

last-minute photo from my Hoosier Husband

Bean's Buffalo Chicken Soup

1 onion, diced
2 c. diced celery (~5 stalks)
2 c. diced sweet potato (~1 large)
3 c. cooked, shredded chicken
2 c. cooked black beans (~one can)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/3 c. Frank's or other hot sauce
2 c. chicken broth
1 block cream cheese, softened & diced

-Saute onion in a few tablespoons of bacon fat (or butter) until soft and beginning to brown.
-Add celery & sweet potato, saute until just beginning to soften.
-Add chicken, beans, paprika, Frank's, S&P. Toss to coat.
-Add broth. Simmer until potatoes are soft.
-Slowly stir in cream cheese, heat until warm.
-Top with blue cheese crumbles (or cheddar) & eat!

Chickpea & Broccoli Pasta

Fast, Cheap, and Easy.

Excellent descriptors for family dinner. Not so great for describing a friend. Just sayin'.

I more or less made up this recipe with odds and ends in my pantry and fridge. Took about half an hour from the time I pulled the pan out of the cabinet and sitting down at the table. Chicken would be a lovely addition to this dish, but it was quite satisfying as-is.

This served two adults and three kids. We all ate our fill, but there were no leftovers.

Chickpea & Broccoli Pasta

1/2 box whole wheat angel hair pasta
1 can chickpeas
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet and saute broccoli until just starting to soften. Drain & rinse chickpeas, add to pan with broccoli. Sprinkle with S&P to taste. When pasta is cooked, drain, and remove broccoli from heat. Squeeze lemon juice over veggies and toss to coat. Spoon pasta into bowls and top with broccoli/chickpeas and generous drizzle of olive oil. My husband enjoyed this with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes.