South of the Border Creamy Chicken Soup

You can find the creamy green tomato salsa here at TastyKitchen, or substitute another type of salsa. If you use a red salsa, your soup will turn a pink color and look different from mine pictured above. A different salsa will also change the ‘heat’ level of your soup.

1. Place the chicken breasts in a large saucepan with the water, potato, carrots and garlic. Bring to a boil and then simmer until chicken is cooked through and potato and carrots are tender. This will take about 15-20 minutes if the chicken was defrosted first. If not, add about 5-10 minutes of boiling time.
2. Brown onion with 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch oven or large stock pot. Cook over medium heat until onion is browned then remove pot from heat.
3. Take some of the broth from the chicken breast and use it to cook the rice (according to the specified amount of liquid and the cooking instructions on the rice package).
4. Remove the chicken from the saucepan. Shred cooked chicken and add it into the Dutch Oven with the cooked potato, carrots and garlic. Add in the onions and the La Victoria Roasted Diced Green Chiles here. Keep covered to retain heat.
5. In a separate saucepan over medium heat make a sauce with the 2 tablespoons of butter, by melting it and adding ½ cup flour. Stir to blend. Combine 1 cup of milk and ¼ cup of half-and-half in measuring cup before stirring it into the butter-flour. Be sure to heat for 1 minute before stirring into the butter-flour or you’ll have problems with lumps. Stir and heat until thickened a bit. Then pour it into the Dutch oven with the broth, chicken and vegetables and turn heat to medium.
6. Add in 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheese and stir until blended.
7. Add the rice, the rest of the milk and the remaining half-and-half and stir until combined. Cook until heated through being sure not to boil.
8. Add in salt and pepper to taste as well as the Creamy Green Tomato Salsa.

Serve with desired toppings, suggestions are: sour cream, shredded colby-jack cheese (this is where the extra 1/2 cup is used), crushed tortilla chips and/or extra Creamy Green Tomato Salsa, or sprinkle on more of the La Victoria Diced Green Chiles.

I used white rice because that’s what my family likes, but brown rice could be used.

You could also omit the potato and add in a can of rinsed black beans.

If you don’t want to take the time to make the Medium White Sauce, you can add a can of Campbell’s Cream of Potato/Celery/Mushroom soup or whatever you have on hand in the pantry. If you would like to save further cooking time, you could microwave the chicken breast and use store bought chicken broth.