Bread Bowl Chicken Salad Soup
Cooler temperatures bring to mind comforting soups and Bread Bowl Chicken Salad Soup is a new addition to our list of favorites.
Instead of making a traditional vegetable soup or a soothing chicken noodle soup, I wanted something just a bit different. It wasn’t until the soup was almost done when I decided to add the most unique ingredient – homemade Simply Chicken Salad.
Simply Chicken Salad is a favorite dish at our house and seems to be in the refrigerator every other week. I couldn’t resist adding some to the soup just to see how it would turn out.
I baked the Tuscan Bread Bowl in the oven according to the package instructions. After baking, I cut off the top, scooped out the center and returned it to the oven for the bowl to set.
I chopped and diced all of my ingredients prior to starting the soup so that it would go much smoother and quicker. Using a 2 quart stock pan, I added my ingredients starting with the 2 ½ tablespoons of canola oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Next I added the cup of finely diced carrots, a cup of finely diced celery, 1 ½ cups of corn that I had cut off of the cob, ¼ cup of finely diced onion, and 2 finely diced Roma tomatoes.
The dry ingredients came next: 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 2 tablespoons dried parsley, 1 tablespoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon garlic salt, and 1 teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon. Mixing that well I added 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 can English peas, and 3 cups of chicken stock.
The chicken stock I used was frozen as ice cubes and worked great for adding to this soup. Anytime you have leftover chicken stock don’t throw it away, instead freeze it in ice trays. When the stock is frozen, pop it out of the ice trays and put it in freezer bags in your freezer. It’s a handy way to use up your stock and have small amounts when you need it. You can measure how much goes into a cube and then you’ll be able to add just the right amount when needed. My cubes equaled 1 ½ tablespoons each.
When my soup was just about ready, I decided to add in a cup of homemade Simply Chicken Salad. This gave the soup a different texture and even more flavor. I let it cook just a few minutes more to mingle all the flavors together. As I removed it from the heat, I added the final two ingredients – ¾ cup sour cream and 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese – making sure to incorporate the new ingredients with the soup.
The results was a rich and creamy texture with such aromas you won’t believe. I put a couple of dippers of soup in the bread bowl and started to add another dab of sour cream, but decided against it. The fragrant soup was delicious with the occasional bits of bread coming off the sides of the bread bowl.
This is like most soups that contains vegetables, you can use any combination of vegetables you like. It doesn’t matter what you want, it usually works well in a soup.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you’ll give this soup a try. If you do, please drop back by and let me know how it went or if you post about it be sure to tag it with #thesurprisedgourmet. I’m always happy to know how the recipes turn out for you.
Cucina Felice!
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-5 servings
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Canola oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced (1 cup)
- 3 ribs of celery, finely diced (1 cup)
- 2 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut off (1 ½ cups)
- Half of a sweet onion, finely diced (1/4 cup)
- 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 Tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon dried Basil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 Cups chicken stock
- 1 Cup homemade chicken salad
- 1 Can (15 ounce) English peas
- 1 Teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon
- 1 Tablespoon garlic salt
- ¾ Cup sour cream
- ¼ Cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place Tuscan Bread Bowl in preheated oven and cook as directed on package. When the bowl is ready, remove it and turn the oven to 550 degrees. Slice off the top of the bread bowl and crave out the center. Place the bowl back in oven at 550 degrees for 5 minutes to set the bowl.
- Take 4 quart stock pot, put in 2 ½ tablespoons Canola oil, 1 tablespoon butter and let it come up to medium high. Add 1 cup carrots, 1 cup celery, ¼ cup onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon basil, and 1 tablespoon oregano.
- Sauté for about 2 minutes, add 1 ½ cups fresh cut corn from the cob, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Next add 1 cup tomatoes, stir well and add 3 cups of chicken stock. Add 1 cup of homemade chicken salad, 1 can (15 ounces) English peas (15 ounces), 1 teaspoon powder chicken bouillon, and 1 tablespoon Lawry’s garlic salt. Let this soup simmer for about 50 minutes all together or longer if you desire.
- When it’s taken off the stove add ¾ cup sour cream, ¼ cup shredded cheese and mix well. Ladle soup into bread bowl. You can garnish it with additional sour cream and shredded cheese, if desired.