Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

1 pound chicken breasts (I use 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts), cooked and diced
1 onion, finely diced
1-2 Tablespoons butter
2 handfuls of baby carrots (or 4-5 reg carrots, sliced small)
4-5 potatoes, finely diced
1 cup milk
4 Tablespoons flour
1 8oz cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese), softened at room temperature

Saute onion in butter. Put onion in pot and add 3 cups of chicken broth (homemade, from the can or use water seasoned yourself with bouillon or soup base) carrots, and potatoes. Add more broth to cover vegetables, if needed. Bring to a boil, then simmer until veggies are tender (about ten minutes). When veggies are tender, mix the flour with the milk and add to the soup. Add cream cheese to soup little pieces at a time and stir until it is all melted. Add cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

Broccoli Cheese soup

1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)

2 c. milk (I used 1% with great results)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better for flavor - I used sharp cheddar and hopefully next time will have extra sharp cheddar on hand)
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
steamed chopped broccoli (the amount of broccoli really boils down to preference - I wanted a lot of broccoli in my soup, so I chopped and steamed approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broccoli florets)

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Makes approximately 4 servings (with two adults and three kids, we finished the pot of soup in one dinner serving it in bread bowls, so if you are serving more adults or serving the soup in regular bowls, I would consider doubling according to the number of people)

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn (or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 ½ cups chicken broth (can use 7 bouillon cubes plus 6 ½ cups water)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won't believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.