Buffalo Chicken Soup and Blue Cheese Croutons

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In 2 separate baking dishes, arrange the chicken in one even layer and the bread cubes in one even layer. Sprinkle both dishes with salt and pepper, and drizzle each with 1/3 of the melted butter. Sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles over the bread cubes.

Place both roasting dishes in the oven. After 10 minutes, toss the croutons and return to the oven for 5 minutes more. When the croutons are golden, after about 15 minutes, remove from the oven. About 10 minutes after that, remove the chicken from the oven when cooked through. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken, saving any juices from the roasting pan.

Meanwhile, make the soup base. Drizzle a little bit of the remaining butter into a medium soup pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Add most of the carrots and celery (reserving some for topping), garlic, and scallion whites. Stir veggies for 7 minutes to soften, then add tomato sauce, stock, and hot sauce. Stir the soup, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes or until thickened slightly and the veggies have softened.

Uncover the soup and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken and any juices and remaining melted butter. Taste the soup, and add salt and more hot sauce to your preference.

When heated through, serve the soup with the croutons, reserved raw veggies, and extra blue cheese crumbles.

Enjoy!