Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Brittany's Ultimate Comfort Food Soup..and original recipe by the diva herself

Okay, so tonight, inspired by the blizzard I had to walk home through after work, I wanted one of two things when I got home...

I either wanted Chicken and Corn Chowder, or Butternut Squash puree...

Well, of course being hungry,and knowing my husband may not take kindly to the idea of eating just a puree, I started to imagine what it would be like to combine both into one beautiful bowl of the ultimate comfort food....I ran to my kitchen like a flash to start my mad scientist experiment...could it be possible to create what I would deem as the ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD?

The result of my kitchen conquest was just as I imagined...YES IT IS THE ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD!!!! It also garnered multiple helpings being eaten by my skeptical but willing guinea pig...I mean husband...

To make this ULTIMATE COMFORT FOOD you will need the following:

1 medium sized butternut squash
1 medium/large size red potato
1 chicken breast
2 Chicken Boullion cubes
about 1 TBS garlic powder
1/2 to 1 cup of corn (or mixed vegetables)
3 TBS butter
about 1 cup of milk or cream

Step 1: slice the squash in half, deseed it, and slice it into quarters. Fill a large pot with water and salt it well. Put the squash in the water, cover, and boil for 20-30 minutes until the squash is tender and can easily be poked with a fork

While that is boiling, fill a medium sized sauce pan about halfway with water. Place the chicken in the water. Peel and dice the potato and put it in the water with the chicken. Add the two boullion cubes and the garlic powder. Cover and boil until the chicken is cooked.

Step 2: Remove the chicken from the water, dice it into bite sized bits and add it back to the water. At this point, you will likely want to strain atleast half the water/stock off. Add the corn or mixed vegetables, cover again, and allow to simmer while you do the next step...

Step 3: Remove the tender squash from the pot. Take the tender meat of the squash out of the rind and put it into your blender/food processor. Add the 3 TBS butter and one cup milk. Puree using your blender/ food processor.

Step 4: Add the puree to the chicken and vegetables in the medium saucepan. Allow to simmer so flavors can blend, about 5- 10 minutes (this will also thicken the puree)

Serve and enjoy...salt and pepper to taste...Jeff's handy hint- use Garlic salt, he loved it! I just used good old fashioned salt and pepper and I liked it fine, so I guess it depends on your palate.

Bon Appetit darlings, until next time.