Another warm, creamy soup!

(sorry- the only bowl that had any soup left in it)

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup
(melskitchencafe.com)

*Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them)
• 1 cup milk (1% is my milk of choice)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
• 2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1. In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent.
2.  Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
3.  In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. 
4. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. (I'm SO lazy and just threw in the cream cheese!  It all worked out.  I think it was semi-softish)  Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

We loved this soup!  It's similar to the last few soups posted that also use cream cheese.  My neighbor Angie thought I was crazy for buying about 15 blocks of cream cheese at the store when they were on sale for 99 cents.  Now we know how fast I'm burning through them!  And I haven't even made my yummy cheesecakes yet- I'm pretty excited for that.