CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PEANUT BUTTER

I recently found a recipe that takes a basic chicken vegetable soup and then adds peanut butter to it. This addition of peanut butter changed the taste of the soup. I like peanut butter, almond butter and the other nut butters. You will always find peanut butter and almond butter in my kitchen. Even the dog likes peanut butter. In fact, he loves peanut butter. If he is left at home because he can’t come with us on an outing, we always take a big dollop of peanut butter and put it inside one of his toys. He watches with anticipation while we maneuver the peanut butter into the small opening of the toy on top of the kitchen counter. He usually doesn’t sit quietly but is springing a bit off the floor with some excitement. He lies on the front rug with this rubber toys between his paws and effectively licks out the peanut butter. He has us well trained.

Let’s get back to the soup….The soup is simply delicious. It is a keeper and I have been having it for lunch for the past three days. It is on the menu again tomorrow. The soup has a smooth nutty taste and smells great. The recipe calls for chicken but you can use turkey. I had a frozen turkey carcass that I knew would make great stock so I used that instead. Here is the recipe.

PEANUT BUTTER VEGETABLE CHICKEN SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups chicken broth

2 cups diced cooked chicken

2 small potatoes, diced

4 medium size carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 cups shredded zucchini

½ bell pepper, diced

1 - 28 oz can of tomatoes or 6 frozen tomatoes

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup peanut butter

¼ to ½ cup cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine broth, chicken and veggies in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender. You can simmer for a longer period of time if time allows.

2. Add peanut butter, cilantro, salt and pepper. Stir until peanut butter is blended. Simmer for 3 minutes or so. Makes 10 servings.

OPTIONS:

Instead of using chicken broth you can make turkey broth from a turkey carcass. You can also add other vegetables including corn niblets, broccoli or cauliflower.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com