Soup Time!

Well hello again friends! Not much to report on the running/jogging side of things. I'm still trucking along. I like that running (And I use that term VERY loosely) has become just another part of my nightly schedule. In my vision of being a perfect mother I'd love to be able to drag my large behind out of my bed earlier in the morning and get my time in before MB wakes up but yea..... that's prolly not going to happen. Like ever. So I'm just plugging away at night hoping this slow and steady pace will get me to the finish line within the time frame and not dead! That being said to avoid a string of mundane "Everything is fine" posts I'm going to turn to my go to when I get bored, FOOD!

First up is a(nother) soup that I swear comes from Cooking Light, even though it starts with bacon. Here's the link to prove it!  I wasn't sure if I was going to post this one so you'll have to forgive my shady and missing pictures.

 This delicious concoction starts with.... chopping, lots of chopping. Please learn from my mistakes and avoid the frantic moment where you realize the stuff in the pot is burning while you get the next step ready. Get a lot of bowls dirty and chop everything in advance. I swear it will make everything easier.

And what delicious soup doesn't start with bacon I'd like to know?? After this a whole bunch of stuff happens that apparently I forgot to take pictures of because I'm awesome like that.

So you end up with this delicious thing. Hearty, warm, creamy, cheesy and just full of general yumminess and I swear a Cooking Light recipe.

And because that obviously wasn't delicious enough on it's own, I whipped some quick Whole Wheat biscuits. Not exactly low fat, but the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour gives these a delicious crunch that I just can't help loving.

Cheddar Chicken Chowder
Adapted from Cooking Light June 2005
*Please, please learn from panic and have everything chopped and ready before you start this. I've adjusted a little bit to better suit me, first being I may or may not have doubled the bacon and the garlic. Don't judge me. I've also found that sauteing the onion and peppers first then the chicken before adding the potatoes helps everything on it's path to soup nirvana and keeps the chicken ridiculously tender. 

4 bacon slices

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (chicken tenders also work great)

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced red bell pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 ½ cups less sodium chicken broth

1 ¾ cups diced, peeled red potatoes (I usually add more so it's a bit chunkier)

2 ¼ cups frozen corn

½ cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven (or large soup pot) over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and set aside for later. Add the onion and bell pepper to the drippings in pan, saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute just until fragrant about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn. Add chicken and saute for 5 minutes stirring frequently.  Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add corn and stir well.

Place flour in a bowl and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended and add to soup. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Top with crumbled bacon. Enjoy!

329 days until the big day, We can do this!

And the journey continues!