Cream of Chicken Soup

Little T : ''Hey What's the big idea?''.....

Mamma : ''???????????????????''

Little T : ''Mamma Mickey Mouse says that!''

Mamma : ''Oh really!!! And what else does Mickey Mouse say?''

Little T : ''We Got ears..say cheers''....

Mamma : ''Does Mickey Mouse only say silly things or does he do some work as well?''

Little T - ''Yes Mamma he uses toodles to help his friends and to solve problems...oh and he does the hot dog dance too'' (at this point she starts singing and dancing to the tunes of the famous Hot Dog song....)

 

 Yes this is what Mickey Mouse and his ''pals'' do in their ''Clubhouse''. And this is how Little T has started talking too lately. I went into a shock when she said ''Hey what's the big idea'' to me for the first time! I love to hear her talk. To just sit down with her and let her talk. It doesn't matter that she still confuses between 'He' and She', 'His' and 'Her'. It doesn't matter that she understands Bangla fully but is not confident enough to speak in it. I love her sudden expressions that she picks up at school or from the cartoons she watches. I love how she sometimes tells me suddenly that she loves me and missed me at school. And I love to do stuff with her. It's the best part of my day. We bake, we dance, we paint and we cook. I try and tend to cook easy child friendly recipes for lunch so that she can help me with the chopping and stirring. Hence we end up cooking this version of Cream of Chicken Soup quite often. I add whatever vegetables are lying around in my fridge to make it as healthy as possible. 

Cream of Chicken Soup

Ingredients : 

Boneless Chicken Breast - 1 (about 200 gm) boiled and shredded, stock reserved

Carrots - 2 small, diced

Celery - 1 diced

Mushrooms - 4 large chopped

Spring Onions - 4 chopped

Garlic - 1 clove, crushed

Oilive Oil - 1 tbsp

Butter - 1 tbsp

Flour - 2 tbsp

Chicken stock - 1 pint(make with granules) + the boiled chicken stock

Dried Thyme - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp crushed

Double Cream - 60 ml

For the Croutons : 

Ciabatta Bread - 6 thin slices cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Dried Thyme - 1 tsp

 

 Method : 

In a large sauce pan heat the oil and butter together. Add the garlic and chicken and fry on high heat till the raw smell of the garlic is gone.  Add all the vegetables cook on low flame. 

Add the mushrooms and continue stirring till mushrooms and other vegetables are tender. Stir in flour until well blended. 

Add both the chicken stocks and thyme. Stir well while bringing the soup to boil. Cover,  reduce heat and simmer till the vegetables are tender. Uncover and season with salt and crushed black pepper. 

Remove from heat and stir in the cream. You can either serve the soup now as a chunky soup or put it in the blender and pass it through a strainer. If you are blending and straining then make sure you reheat the soup before serving.  

Meanwhile, to make the croutons, mix olive oil and thyme in a mixing bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss until they are coated well with the oil mixture. Spread on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp, turning them over halfway through cooking. 

Serve the soup with some croutons and crusty bread.