Cooking Column: Comfort soup and chicken

The recent shift in the weather has sent my allergies all in a tizzy. Ever since I woke up on Tuesday with a sore throat because of it, I knew only thing would help me out – a good bowl of soup.

Cream of mushroom out of a can is fine, but I decided I wanted something more. Eating straight-up soup is something I save for when I’m really sick so I usually pair my soup with something else. Both my sister and I are fond of throwing pasta in with creamy soups or making a grilled cheese on the side, but adding the pasta sort of makes the soup part into a sauce and grilled cheese is a little more crunchy than my throat wanted.

Also, adding either of those things meant dirtying another pan or pot on the stove, which I was just too lazy to clean this week. Instead, I decided to add some shredded chicken and vegetables.

There’s two ways you can approach this recipe. You can shred the chicken yourself and dice up fresh veggies, or you can buy pre-shredded chicken and a can of mixed vegetables. If you’re feeling really bold, you can make the soup yourself too, but I’ll admit that making creamy soups is a mystery to me.

Since I was looking for a quick remedy to my sore throat, I decided to use pre-shredded chicken and a can of mixed vegetables. Once you add the soup it sounds like you’re cooking with a lot, but if it’s for only one or two people, you won’t need any bigger than a three quart pot on the stove.

Adding some spices and herbs to the soup is fun too. I chose to add a little garlic and onion powder and a good sprinkling of parmesan cheese for extra flavor as well as seasoning the chicken and soup with salt and pepper. You could also add parsley, a bay leaf or perhaps even a little chili powder. I actually bought some bay leaf meaning to add one, but realized after I took the soup off the stove that the container was still sitting on the counter, unopened. Oops.

There’s one other trick for this soup. The soup can will tell you to add one soup can of water for every one can of soup. Don’t listen to the can. For every one can of soup you use, add half a can of milk. It makes the soup creamier and better.

This soup is warm, comforting and easy on sore throats, but also very filling. It’s not the kind of soup you make when you’re sick and your stomach can’t handle much. It’s the kind of soup you make on a chilly fall or winter night when you just want to chill out and feel warm.

What you’ll need

1 ½ pounds of chicken, cooked and shredded

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup plus one soup can of milk

1 ½ cups of milk

1 ½ cups of mixed vegetables (1 can)

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese

How to make it:

If you bought fresh vegetables, chop them finely and set them aside. If you bought a can of mixed vegetables, drain them and set aside.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook at medium heat on a stovetop in a three quart pot until fully cooked.

Set aside. If not yet shredded, shred.