Thursday, May 13, 2010

Trisha Yearwood's Chicken Soup and Pioneer Woman's Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Apricot Sauce


Still obsessed with my copy of Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood, I made Trisha's Chicken Soup. The picture in the book was so beautiful and I was convinced that I needed to make it as soon as possible. I have tried five of her recipes so far, and I like this recipe for her Chicken Soup the best. It was delicious, outstanding, creamy, hearty, and quite addictive. My husband and I each had two bowls, in one setting.

I love how Trisha uses tricolor pasta to really liven up this bowl of soup. This soup is also chockful of veggies, bell peppers, onions, celery, red potatoes, and a bag of frozen mixed veggies!! To thicken the soup, Trisha uses a mix of Wondra flour and water and then finishes the soup off with a liberal dose of cream and butter. Thick, creamy, hearty and addictive, this is a soup recipe that I will make over and over again in my kitchen.


Chicken Soup
Adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood
Serves 10

Salt and Pepper
4 Whole Chicken Breasts, bone in and with skin
2 medium bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 48-ounce can chicken broth
3 medium red potatoes, chopped
1 16-ounce pacakage frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup tricolor rotini pasta, uncooked (I used the whole pound)
1 cup small carrots, cut lengthwise into fourths
3 tablespoons Wondra or all-purpose flour
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

Sprinkle salt and pepper on each chicken breast and place in an 8-10quart stockpot. Add the bell peppers, onions, and celery, then pour the chicken broth over all. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the chicken for 40-50 minutes, or until done.

Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Allow to cool slightly. Remove the bones and skin and discard. Shred the chicken and put back into the pot. (NOTE: I skipped the above steps because I used a rotisserie chicken. Instead I sauteed the bell peppers, onions and celery in about one tablespoon oil, until tender. I then poured in the required amount of broth and followed the steps below.)>Add the potatoes and cook for 12 -15 minutes. Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 12-15 minutes more. Add the pasta and carrots, and cook for 7 minutes more. (NOTE: I cooked an entire pound of the tricolor pasta separately so that the pasta would remain al dente. I kept the pasta separate until right before serving).In a quart glass measuring cup, mix the flour into 1/4 cup water until smooth. Pour in the cream, then add to the soup mixture along with the butter. Cook for 10 more minutes. Allow to stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. (NOTE: I spooned the tricolor pasta over each bowl prior to serving)

In the mood for both soup and sandwiches this week, I also made Pioneer Woman's Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Apricot Sauce. A creamy sauce is made from equal parts apricot preserves, mayo and Dijon mustard. You begin by spreading the sauce on two slices of good sourdough bread.

Layer spinach and sliced red onions on one slice of bread and the grilled chicken breast on the other side. Ree chose to leave her grilled chicken breast whole. I had to slice mine in order for it to fit on the bread.

I think you could definitely stop here and eat this sandwich cold, but Ree grilled hers and so did I. If you chose to serve it grilled, brush the bread with a little bit of oil to ensure that nice crispy brown crust. You can also find the recipe over HERE on Ree's website.


I am submitting both the soup and sandwich to my friend Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sundays roundup.
I am also submitting the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Apricot Sauce to Foodie Friends of the Pioneer Woman.

32 comments:

  1. Hey Kim! I've missed reading your blogs. I've been in UBER BABY mode and have lost touch with my blog friends. I'm happy to hear a little about this cookbook. I've been wanting to get a good opinion about it. The soup looks tasty!

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  2. Both the soup and especially the sandwich sound amazing. I'm bookmarking this for a weeknight meal!

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  3. Glad to see you making that chicken sandwich, I thought it looked really good on PW's site, and this proves it :)

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  4. What a delicious soup. I need some chicken soup tonight.

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  5. This is my kind of sandwich...looks amazing.

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  6. That chicken sandwich has my name on it daaaaaaahling, do hand it over and nobody gets hurt ;)
    *kisses* HH

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  7. I don't know which looks better...the soup or the sandwich!

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  8. You totally sold me on the soup! It looks so creamy and comforting. Love the tricolor pasta. And the chicken sandwich sounds like a treat too!

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  9. Yum, I love the look of that sandwich, must be on her site cos I haven't seen it in her cookbook. Mel and I will be making PW's Prune cake this week :)

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  10. I have been salivating over Ree's sandwich for a while now..definitely going to have to be made! And that soup looks DELICIOUS! I have to say, I've never seen a chicken soup with cream in it. But wow. And yes tricolore pasta make everythign taste better!

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  11. Chicken & apricots go so well together. One place I worked at, we made a panini with chicken & an apricot salsa and brie and it was to die for! Your soup looks delish, too.

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  12. Whoa, that sandwich has me drooling. :)

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  13. I had my eye on that soup as well and yours look so delicious. I'm glad to hear you were pleased with it. Her book has been so much fun to look through. Have you made the broccoli casserole? That was super tasty and quite an indulgence. I want to come up with a lighter version though, but then that wouldn't be very 'Southern', would it? lol
    The chicken sandwich looks to die for!

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  14. I bookmarked that sandwich, cuz it sounded so good! So glad you made it and will share it on FFPW. Thanks!

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  15. The soup looks so creamy and delicious and the sandwich looks great too. Thanks for sending them to Souper Sundays! ;-)

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  16. I've never been a fan of chicken soup UNLESS it's the creamy kind and with 2 cups of heavy cream in this one, I know I'll be making it, lol. I love the fact you used a rotisserie chicken too. They are such a great time-saver, aren't they? The sandwich looks absolutely yummy too, I could use my panini grill (which doesn't get used enough). Thanks for these 2 great recipes!

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  17. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the soup, but I am LOVING the sandwich! How clever is that, using apricot jam???

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  18. Love love love the flavors on both of these great recipes!

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  19. I am so not a chicken soup person, but I have to admit that this soup is definitely pretty. Love the tricolor pasta touch!

    I also have to admit that I kinda wrinkled my nose up over the idea of apricot sauce w/ chicken. But the picture of your grilled sandwich got my attention for sure!

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  20. What a perfect combination. The soup and salad are both wonderful stand-alones. Served together it's sheer paradise. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...MAry

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  21. can you believe that i still haven't tried anything from the pw? it sounds like she cna do no wrong, that sandwich looks absolutely mouthwatering. i love the soup as well, looks like a fabulous lunch!

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  22. The soup is indeed amazing and I love chicken sandwiches - so you did sing to me here. I also keep the pasta separate. And let others add it in individually - choosing their own amounts. How grand that it is packed with vegetables.

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  23. My daughter is crazy for soup and chicken noodle is her favorite so I will definately have to give this version a try. I saw the apricot chicken sandwhich on PW's website and thought it looked fantastic. Yum!

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  24. Soup and sandwiches!! Yummy! The sandwich looks very delish to me-apricot and chicken together sounds fab!!

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  25. I am really going to have to get my hands on this cookbook! What a nice soup. I love the tri color pasta too!

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  26. It's always exciting to find a soup recipe that stands apart from the rest--this does sound like a big bowl of comfort! Yum!

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  27. Soup is out of my menu starting today!!! It's nice and warm in Paris at last.. I'll only make gaspacho, this delicious Andalou cold soup ... however, I must say that your pictures look great and inviting!

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  28. Love both dishes! The soup looks beautiful with the tricolor pasta and the sandwich looks fantastic!!!

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  29. Kim, I am loving both these dishes. The chicken soup is really ringing in my head.

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  30. that soup looks incredible!! then I saw the grilled chicken sandwich and wow!! I just ate dinner and if both those dishes were in front of me I'd have a hard time not diving in.

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  31. Yum! Both soup and sandwich look terrific.I'll book mark this since my kids love having sandwich night for dinner.
    Mimi

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  32. Wow.
    I'm home with the stomach flu but I would eat that.

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