Chicken pot pie makes me think of my grandma.  She and my grandpa would eat the dark meat and then save all the breasts in the freezer.  Then, when it was time to make chicken pot pie for the extended family, she would cook up those breasts and make delicious stock.  She would make that stock into a rich, creamy gravy and add vegetables from the garden and huge chunks of white meat.  She topped it with the most delicious, flaky crust you can imagine.  While I have occasionally made that delicious meal, I find that this chicken pot pie soup fits my schedule a bit better and the flavors are so similar that it still takes me back to my childhood!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup:

Saute:

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 b/s chicken breasts in small cubes

Add 1/4c. butter and 1/4c. flour and cook 1 minute.

Add:
1 quart chicken stock *

Let boil to thicken and then add:
1 can fat free evaporated milk
1/2 bag hash brown square potatoes (frozen) OR diced potatoes
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Cook until veggies are tender.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Top each bowl with:
Puff pastry sheet cut into 1 inch squares and cooked according to package instructions until puffy and golden brown
OR
Pie crust cut into 1 inch squares and cooked until golden brown.

*I really prefer homemade stock for soup. I usually use bones from roasted chicken (or turkey, or a ham bone) and add big chunks of onion with skin, celery tops – the leafy part, and whole unpeeled carrots and cook it for a few hours. I strain it and throw the stock in the freezer in the Ziplock circular 4c. containers labeled for when I need a quick soup. You could totally use chicken base and water, or a box or can of stock, though, and it would be fine!