Soup's On!

Yesterday, Randi at I Have To Say launched a new round of a Recipe Box Swap. Randi is hands down one of my favorite blogs. She lives in my favorite state (Colorado), homeschools, cooks, bakes, quilts, and crafts. She's up my alley. :-) She also happens to have a magnificent online fabric store, if you're ever in the market.

I didn't participate in yesterday's post because we didn't have soup for dinner last night, and I didn't feel right posting a recipe without a picture. I'm bound tightly by the unwritten rules of blog land.

Which is completely ridiculous.

Today I put a pot of soup on to simmer for a friend of mine, and it just occurred to me while I was in the kitchen stirring that I should snap a photo and join the swap a day late. Because now that I have the photo I'm very legit. :-)

This is a new recipe for me. It isn't a long family favorite or something that has gotten rave reviews from the generations. It's a scrap of paper that I found stuffed in my cookbook rack that vaguely matched some ingredients that I happened to have on hand in my pantry.

Sometimes those are the best kinds of soup pots. Throw in what you have, and improvise with what you don't! This one turned out pretty darn good! Good enough to share, anyway. I will definitely make this one again.

I'll call this one PICTURE PERFECT CHICKEN SOUP...

In large soup kettle, whisk together

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 box plus one can chicken broth

Add...

One shredded chicken

2 cans of Rotel (I put one can in the blender first)

2 bags of "Boil In Bag" rice

Rinse, drain, and add...

One can pinto beans

One can black beans

One can shoepeg corn

Simmer for 2-3 hours. I plan to serve this with cilantro and sour cream.

Also, I made a wonderful discovery while shlepping something onto the top shelf in my laundry room. Alas, my long lost bread machine, all tucked away and completely forgotten! We used to make bread all the time, but this has been in storage so long, I forgot all about it. So, a fresh baked loaf to send to my friend with her pot of soup. My house smells amaaaaaaazing.

Check out Randi's post from yesterday to see what else you can ladle up this week.