Pot Pie Soup

I'm not actively doing the January Pantry Challenge this year, but you wouldn't know it from the meal calendar.  I didn't buy anything for this meal, and the canned veggies were actually free with reward points.

Sure, you could do all of this from scratch.  You can also do it entirely by opening cans.  It's cold and flu season, and not everyone is in the mood to cook right now.  It's whatever works for you to make something comforting and pot pie-like.  Mine was a combination.  Yes, the broth was home made, but I also hauled it out of the freezer because I made it last month.  The excessive amount of celery is because the plant needed a trim.  The canned vegetables did contain some celery.

I'm not in the habit of using evaporated milk, but I bought some in November for a pie that never happened.  It doesn't keep forever, so I decided to use that rather than buy cream.  It was a wonderful substitution, and I think I'm going to start doing that for all cream-based soups.  Guess I'll have to start keeping a can or two in the pantry.

2 Tb unsalted butter
1 Tb olive oil
*1 C diced onion
*2 ribs celery, diced
3 Tb flour
*1 12oz can evaporated milk, or 1-1/2 C whole milk
*1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tb fresh
salt and pepper to taste
*1 10 oz can chicken, turkey, ham, or beef
*3 to 4 C mixed veggies, frozen and/or canned
*Chicken broth as needed to thin, 1-2 cups

1.  In a large soup pot, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat.  Once melted, add onion and celery.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2.  Stir in flour until mixture becomes pasty and flour is cooked.  Add the thyme.  Gradually add milk and continue to cook until thickened.  This could take a while, since you're doing it over a lower heat to avoid scorching.  As the mixture thickens, stir constantly.

3.  Add chicken with its broth, but drain any canned veggies before adding.  Stir and bring everything to just below a boil.  If you're using frozen veggies, it's going to take a while.

4.  At this point, the consistency will be like a creamy pot pie filling.  To turn it into a soup, add broth 1/4 C at a time until desired thickness is reached.  I didn't measure, but I estimate I used a little over a cup of broth.  It was still a thick, creamy soup, but no longer a casserole.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π