Phood Phun with Phl--... Nah, with Mimi - Soul-Healing Chicken Soup

      Y’all read the title right…  I sat this one out, Mimi took over the kitchen and made this one while I ran my mama’s errands and stewed over something that I was expecting to happen anyway.

Never mind that though.  She soldiered on these and deserves all of the credit.  This is a soup she made a long time ago when she was still trying to get me.  Since we have happened upon fall weather, it is time for soups and the like.  Really easy to make, especially if you are in possession of a crock pot you can set and adjust from the couch or from another ZIP code on the other side of town.

      Let me take a moment to discuss how amazing crock pot liners are too.  Rather than dirtying up your crock pot, you put in a bag that will be resistant to the heat, cook in it, get all the food out of it and then toss the bag in the trash.  Cleanup from there might consist of a good hot water rinse.

No more games…  Let’s cook.

                                                 You will need:

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup celery

½ cup carrots

…  and place them in the bottom of your crock pot.

On top of that, place 2lb of boneless/skinless chicken thighs seasoned with your favorite seasoning blend – we used 1tbsp of thyme and a blend I call “Phlip’s magic seasoning” and if you PayPal us $15, we will send you a jar.

Cook for 4 hours – pass the time by preparing the meals that readers will see over the next couple of weeks yet – or until the chicken is easily shreddable:

Add 1 can of Rotel, 1 bag of fresh spinach and 8 cups of chicken broth.

Allow it all to simmer until the spinach is properly wilted (about 2 more hours) and salt to taste.

This soup is REALLY good with cheese and keeping to the common theme, we went with shredded pepper jack:

And we’re done!

Mimi’s “thing” is cooking for people and it is only fitting because she is VERY good at it.  She made plenty of this soup not only for us here in the house, but to be shared with her coworkers.  Because of that, we can pass right by my assessment of how the soup tastes – having nothing to do with the fact that I will not have tasted it until 4 hours after this post goes online – and let the coworker she intended to feed to tell the tale.

(Photo credit: Leigh Barnwell)

 Man...  If the love that went into this soup is matched with the OTHER two things she made while it was preparing, then I can't WAIT for my lunch break to taste this today.