This recipe was really one that just fell together. My friend Casey had posted a couple weeks back looking for slow cooker type recipes to start cooking at home more with. It made me realize that I really need to start using my slow cooker more because it just kind of sits in my cabinet. I couldn't resist cooking some of the ingredients for this recipe on the stove, but it all comes together in the slow cooker.
At first, I was going to make a Chicken and Corn chowder but I had no potatoes. I just can't imagine chowder without potatoes. Then, I was going to make a Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup, but Jon had drank my entire gallon of milk in 2 days. What is he, a growing 14 year old? Then, I was going to make a Chicken Chilli but really didn't feel like putting anything tomato in the soup. I just wanted it to be a clear type soup. So, I landed on just doing a Chicken Noodle but realized I had just cooked up some tortellini the day before, so I threw those in there and voila! Delicious. Hope you all like it! And I hope you enjoyed the unnecessary evolution story of this soup.
Sorry I've been mostly posting chicken recipes recently. I am constantly looking for new chicken recipes and I'm hoping you guys are too. I will mix it up with desserts and maybe some breakfast items in the very near future, I promise!
2 32 ounce containers of Chicken Broth
1 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 cup carrot, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup mushroom, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup gravy*
15 ounce can of corn
15 ounce can of beans (I used kidney)
1/2 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
2 bay leaves
2 1/2- 3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded**
2 cups tortellini, cooked as directed on package.
Turn on slow cooker, add in stock, carrots and celery. In a medium skillet on medium-high heat, melt butter. Add in mushrooms, onions and garlic. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until mushrooms are browned, and onions and garlics are softened. (Warning: your kitchen is going to smell unbelievably delicious during this stage. Family members may not be able to wait for the slow cooker to finish its job.) Add gravy to mushrooms, onions and garlic and whisk together until well combined. Add gravy mixture to slowcooker. Add in corn, beans, parsley, thyme, poultry seasoning and bay leaves to slow cooker. Allow to cook 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low until vegetables are tender (particularly the carrots). Add in the chicken and pasta at the end and allow to cook with soup for about 15 minutes just to heat through.
*Instead of gravy, you could also use a cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup. Those soups contain MSG, so I elected to use gravy. If you don't want to make a homemade gravy, you could buy those McCormick gravy packets to throw it together.
**Like I told you guys with the Chicken Soft Tacos, I buy those rotisserie chickens at Costco. So, for this soup recipe, I used the chicken for the soup, and made a gravy out of the juices.
