You have to love a recipe that combines two comfort foods – pot pie and soup! And if you’re a huge fan of all things comfort food like Shawn is, this is totally a winner in our house.  I confess that I’ve never really had actual pot pie, but I liked this a lot, and Shawn said it tastes like the real thing…in soup form, anyway.  This was great with some crusty bread (yeah yeah, this was not a low carb weekend, not even a little 😉 ).  A nice winter soup to have again on a pending snow-day.

• 1-2lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 5 1/2 Tbsp butter (or Smart Balance)
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 small onion)
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 russet potato, diced
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried crushed rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen or fresh peas
• 3 cups milk
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Bring a pot of chicken stock to a boil and add chicken breast…shred when cooked through.

Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add in onion, carrot and celery and sauté until transparent. Add chicken broth, potatoes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 – 25 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in chicken and peas.

In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt remaining 4 Tbsp butter. Stir in flour and cook mixture, stirring constantly for 1 1/2 minutes. While whisking slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat while stirring constantly, then remove from heat and stir milk mixture into mixture in pot.