Winter is still here. It reared its ugly head and dumped 6 or 7 inches on us the other day, though most of it is gone now. When the days are cold like this, I love to have a piping hot bowl of homemade soup for lunch, and I’m especially fond of chowders. A batch of soup freezes well and makes for several hot lunches throughout the month. This satisfying soup is filled with shredded chicken, diced ham and delicious melty cheese.
As you know I founded the Secret Recipe Club. Each Monday a bunch of bloggers post their recipes from their secretly assigned blog and reveal themselves to everyone. Sometimes on Reveal Day there’s what we call an orphan. That means that whoever was supposed to make something from this particular blog didn’t. Whether they simply forgot or had a real life emergency, it still leaves someone without a reveal to look forward to.
On Monday there was one orphaned blog, Krista from Double Dipped Life. The beautiful thing about The Secret Recipe Club is that no one likes to see anyone left out. So quite often when word spreads, someone will come forward and make something from that blog. This time it just happened to be me. :)
When I started browsing Krista’s blog I was actually quite happy to find that her and I have very similar tastes. So many of her recipes were tempting me! In fact when I shopped for the soup ingredients this morning, I also bought what I needed to make her spinach dip!
There were quite a few others too, but this soup really jumped out at me. Krista’s version is called Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup and uses Swiss cheese, inspired by the dish of the same name. I’m actually not a big fan of Chicken Cordon Bleu itself, but the recipe looked really satisfying, so I made a few adjustment to suit my own tastes and love the way it turned out.
Because I was in a hurry, I threw some chicken breasts into my pressure cooker to give them a shredded consistency. Krista’s suggestion of using a store bought Rotisserie chicken is excellent, but I hit the grocery store pretty early so there weren’t any ready yet.
This would be a great soup to make after Easter when you have all that leftover ham! Since I didn’t have any leftovers, I used some ham steaks I actually had in the refrigerator.
And finally, because no one in this family besides me will eat Swiss cheese, I decided to use one of my favorite cheeses of all time. It’s called Spinach Artichoke Jack and I get it from Sam’s Club. Love, love, love. Besides… it’s made here in Wisconsin! ;-)
Easy to put together and ideal for using leftovers, you’ll want to add this one to your menu. Thanks for a great recipe Krista! Also, come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset
More Soup Recipes
- Taco Soup
- Fish Chowder
- Homemade Chili
- Chicken Bean Soup
- Cheddar Cheese Potato Soup
- Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup
- Corn Chowder
Cheesy Chicken & Ham Chowder
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ medium onion chopped
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 ½ cups 1% milk
- 14- oz can chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 medium Russet potatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup cooked chicken shredded
- 1 cup cooked ham diced
Before You Begin
Instructions
- Wash potatoes and pierce the skin with a fork. Microwave for 5 minutes. Rotate them, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until done.
- Meanwhile, in a stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onion, and let cook until tender and garlic is just beginning to brown, stirring frequently.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture in the pan and stir together with a wooden spoon. Let the mixture cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly. Slowly add the milk a little at a time while whisking constantly. Add the chicken broth, and whisk well. Bring mixture to a simmer, and heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- While your soup is thickening, cut the microwaved potatoes in half length-wise and scoop out the flesh. Cut or mash into small pieces. Measure out your chicken, ham and cheese.
- Turn the heat to medium-low, and add the potatoes. Sprinkle the soup with salt and pepper. Add the cheese, chicken, and ham. Warm through and serve hot!
Be sure to check out Double Dipped Life for more delicious recipes.
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Amanda Davis
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Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
Holy cow Amanda! You surely did this recipe proud. I love that it has chicken AND ham (not to mention cheeeeese). Good on you for taking on this particular orphan this month. I’ll step up as soon as possible to foster an orphan too. This month just wasn’t possible. You do/did a fantastic job! Please hand me a spoon :)
Amanda says
Thank you Renee! I think next time I would even cut down the ham by half since ham adds such a strong flavor. The chicken couldn’t compete, but I think that’s because i cooked it in the pressure cooker. A rotisserie chicken would have added much better flavor I think!
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
so great that you stepped up and helped out by making this. soup looks great.
Milena Andrade says
Beautiful… wonderful your work, congratulations!
I loved your tips!
I love your site, i will visit more often!
kisses! (Brazil)
Also visit the Sweet Kitchen.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
A little different combination…sounds delicious!
Rhonda says
My kind of soup! I’m a cheese fanatic, I must find that cheese!
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says
This looks delish!
SallyBR says
What a great post! You picked a perfect recipe for the weather we’ve been having, although today it’s warming up quite a bit, and took care of an orphan to boot! Awesome!
wonderful photos!
Katrina says
That sounds so good! And I want that cheese!
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
What a really wonderful sounding chowder, Amanda! I’m also headed over to Krista’s blog now to check out her recipes.
Velva says
Chicken and ham chowder…very nice. It’s a really nice twist on traditional chowders. The artichoke Jack is a nice twist on traditional cheese too. I have never seen it before.
Cheers.
Velva
Amanda says
Thanks Velva! I love that cheese, it’s one of my all time favorites!
April @ Angel's Homestead says
Wow! This soup looks delicious, and something me and my family would really love. Your photography is awesome too.
Amanda says
Thank you April, so nice of you to say!
Angie @ Bigbearswife says
The soup looks so good! I’ve never heard of Spinach Artichoke Jack, but I bet I’d love it! I love Spinach Artichoke Dip!