It’s beginning to be fall and that means soup! I love how warm and cozy a bowl of hearty soup makes me feel. Sometimes I don’t have the exact ingredients a recipe calls for, though, so I’ve made a recipe of my own based on what I had on hand. It can’t be that hard, right?
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c dried black eyed peas
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 Tbsp bacon grease
1/4 c all purpose flour
2 chicken breasts
3 c mixed vegetables
4 c chicken broth
1-2 c milk or half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
The night before you make your soup (or the morning of), place your dried peas in a pan and cover them with 2″ of water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add more water, and let sit overnight.
Trim the chicken of any excess fat and cut into 1″ cubes. Place in a pot of boiling water, and boil for a few minutes until cooked. Meanwhile, add diced onion and bacon fat to a large stock pot and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent – about 5 minutes. Add the flour and whisk to make a roux. Add chicken broth, milk, mixed vegetables, drained peas, and chicken. Season to taste. Cook the soup until broth is hot and vegetables are soft – about 20-30 minutes.
Serve as is or with some hot crusty bread.
Thoughts:
- You could easily substitute pinto beans or a bag of mixed beans in this recipe. If you are in a time crunch, canned beans work well also.
- I used a mixed bag of frozen carrots, potatoes, celery, and onion from the store because I didn’t want to spend my whole life peeling carrots. This soup would be even better with fresh vegetables, and you can use just about anything you have laying around.
- If you don’t have bacon fat you can substitute lard or butter, but the flavor will be slightly different.
- Canned chicken would work in a pinch, and a rotisserie chicken would be easy and add a lot of good flavor.
Dramatic Lyric 