Creamy Tarragon Chicken Soup

Hello, everybody! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving full of friends and family and love.  I have a delicious fall recipe for you.  But first, I have to share some pics of what we've been doing. Or who we've been watching. Because these cats.... I'm telling you, they are turning me into a crazy cat lady!

So, this is our big dude cat. His original name was "Lady" but he turned out to be a boy so the kids named him Koshka ('cat' in Russian). He's still Lady to me. 

He's a giant but he sleeps like this.

I mean... come ON. 

I can't resist rubbing his belly when I see him. Of course he responds with a big ol' stretttttttch.

So, that's his main sleeping pose, and now he has both kittens sleeping the same way! I'm dying of the cute.

 

The only thing cuter than the cats are my kids. Here's one waiting for his Cub Scouts "rocket" to take off. I love the excitement on his face!

Now that we've covered cute cats and cute kids, on to the recipe. 

 This soup calls for cream or half and half. I love those 50% rebate stickers when a product will expire in a few days. HAHAHAHAHA, I have six hungry kids. We can use that up in an hour, no problem!

Ingredients: (I'm listing the original amounts, not the amounts I use since I usually triple a recipe)
1 lb cooked and chopped chicken
1 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
2 cups cream
1 cup chopped carrots
8 oz frozen peas
1/2 chopped onion
3 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 TBS fresh tarragon
pinch of thyme
                                               
Here's the chicken.
                                           
Sautee the onions and carrots in 1 TBS of oil for a few minutes. Add the garlic and stir.  Add one cup of the chicken broth, bring to a boil. Make sure the carrots are completely cooked because there's not a lot of cooking time after the broth is added. Remove from heat.
                         
I really like this bouillon seasoning. No MSG, which is a huge plus!
                                     
Of course we're making a giant batch so I had to use a big mixing bowl-- and I still love my birthday gift from a friend! Pioneer Woman Cooks stuff is so pretty!

 So, step 2. Add the cream to the flour, tarragon, thyme, and pepper. Whisk together.
                                           
 Add the flour mixture to the vegetables and broth. Stir together. It should be very thick. Stir constantly over medium heat until the flour mixture starts to turn darker, like a roux.

 Add the chicken. Now add the broth one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly so the roux is completely combined. When the broth is mixed completely, add the cream or half and half, and the bay leaf.
                                         
At the very last, add a package of frozen peas and bring to a simmer. Depending on how thick you like your cream soups, you can let it reduce a little or you can dig in!

 Ta-Dah! So fragrant and creamy! This recipe was from a neighbor and making it reminded me that I needed to send her a card thanking her for all the great recipes she taught me before they moved away. YUM!!

Also, Advent is starting and we made our wreath. So exciting!  We've been practicing our Christmas carols so we can put on a concert for the nursing homes near us (which will be much easier now that we have TWO guitar players and a pianist). May everyone have a blessed beginning of the Christmas season!