Yummy!

I made this soup tonight and just had to share. I found the recipe on a fun cooking website I found on my sister in law's blog...it's called Picky Palate. It is so delicious! I did make a few changes to make it healthier and fit our tastes better...I'll post those at the end.

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Rice Soup

• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 3 large carrots, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 Cups zucchini, diced
• 2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
• 2 Cups cooked and shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 Cups steamed white rice
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 3/4 Cups chicken broth
• 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 Cup Smithfield Bacon, cooked and crumbled plus 1/2 Cup to garnish bowls

Instructions

Heat oil into a soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots and zucchini for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute then add chicken and rice. Reduce heat to low.

Melt butter into a large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until thick and creamy, nearly to a boil. Stir in shredded cheddar until melted then pour into chicken and vegetable mixture. Add 1 Cup crumbled bacon, stir then season according to taste then simmer on low until ready to serve. Garnish each bowl with a few pinches of additional crumbled bacon.

8 servings

Changes:
- Used half of the olive oil to saute the veggies.
- Used extra veggies.
- Used a third of the garlic...and still tasting it!
- Used 3 T butter instead of 4. I'll bet you could even get away with 2.
- I had to add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk at the end because the soup was so thick.

We ate this with French bread and everyone liked it except for Gage...he's a little picky. Hope you enjoy!