Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup

The last few years, my husband and I pack up the kids and head to Florida for a few weeks.  It's absolutely wonderful having those two weeks free of house chores and to just focus on my husband and our girls.  We soak up the warm sunshine, bike miles and miles, shop til we drop and swim, swim, swim.  We try to make the most of our time before we head back to the cold winters we have at home.

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to eat.  Duh!  I love trying out all the different restaurants on Sanibel Island.  Doc Ford's is a very popular tourist-y restaurant on Sanibel and while we were dining there one night I decided to give their soup of the day a try.  It was chicken and mushroom soup and it was absolutely to die for.  My oldest daughter decided to give it a try as well and we were both scraping the bottom of the bowl trying to get in every single last bite.  I looked at her and promised her that I'd do my very best to recreate that amazing soup when we got home.  Sure enough, as soon as the bags were unpacked I was scouring the grocery store for ingredients that I thought would be perfect to clone Doc Ford's chicken and mushroom soup. 
While my Sweet Girl was at school my Little One and I went to work chopping, mixing and taste testing.  I was super happy with what we came up with and just had to share with you, dear reader!
I've also added a few tips on how to stretch this soups leftovers (if you have any) and make it into a delicious casserole. Since it's a cream based soup, freezing wouldn't be the best option for leftovers.


Without further ado...

Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup

*2 Tbls butter

*one tsp extra virgin olive oil

*one onion, diced

*2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded

*one package of sliced baby portabella mushrooms (I chopped the bigger ones into smaller bites)

*1/2 tsp dried thyme

*3 cloves of garlic, minced

*1/2 teas Lawry's garlic salt

*one celery stalk, diced

*1/3 cup flour

*4 cups chicken broth

*3/4 cups half & half

*salt and pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot melt butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and celery until both have softened and onions are opaque.  Add garlic and mushroom and cook until mushrooms start to soften.  Add chicken and stir up a bit.  Then stir in garlic salt, thyme and flour.  Cook about one minute or so until the flour is absorbed.  Slowly stir or whisk in the chicken broth a bit at a time to prevent lumps.  Reduce the heat to medium low.  Cook for about 20 minutes or so until soup has thickened.  Stir in the half and half and then remove from heat.  Salt and pepper to taste, although depending on how salty your broth is, you may not need to add any salt at all.

Serve with a crusty bread.  Delicious!

To stretch this meal you can add a cup of cooked wild rice soup.  Another option is to add two cups of wild rice to a 9x9 baking dish.  Top with a cup of your fav chopped veggies (maybe some green beans, corn, cooked carrots... even steamed broccoli or cauliflower might be some to try? Whatever is available in the fridge!)  Top with 2-3 cups of chicken and mushroom soup and them top that with a handful of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  YUM!

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