Craig's Get Healthy Hearty Creamy Chicken Soup

I've been cooking a lot lately. Today I decide to make a hearty chicken soup for my sweety. We've both been sick for about a week. I hope it goes away soon. I've recently become uninsured (health insured that is). Don't worry I'm getting health insurance very soon.

Anyhow, I thought I'd share the recipe or at least write it down in case I want it again in the future. It looks kinda long, but I was trying to be verbose. It took about 2 1/2 hours total to make.

Ingredients:

fresh basil, approx 5 leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp rosemary
3 cloves garlic (each piece of the head of garlic is a clove)
lemon pepper seasoning (or your favorite chicken seasoning)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 celery ribs (individual pieces of the stalk)
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 small onions
5 medium sized potatoes
1 lb sliced white mushrooms
2 chicken breasts
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
2 cups half and half

Chop 3 small onions. Add approx. 1 tbsp olive oil to a large pot (enough to cover the bottom). Heat oil on medium and add chopped onions once the oil is hot. Stir occasionally. Add 1 clove crushed garlic when the onions are almost done. When the onions are cooked, add 5 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of beef stock. Add approx 5 diced basil leaves, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Keep on medium heat stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer once the soup begins to boil.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a saucepan. Heat oil on medium until hot, then add 1 lb sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for a minute or so, then add 2 cloves of crushed garlic (about 1 and 1/2 tsp if you're using crushed garlic from a jar). Once the mushrooms are cooked (about two minutes) add them to the large pot.

Chop 4 sticks of celery. Add approx. 1 tbsp of butter to the bottom of a saucepan. You can use the same pan that you cooked the mushrooms in. Add celery once the butter is melted. Stir occasionally. Celery will take longer to soften than the mushrooms or onions. The celery doesn't need to be completely soft before adding it to the pot. It will soften some in the soup. Add the celery to the large pot.

Peel and cube 5 medium potatoes. Place the potatoes in a pot of water. This will prevent the potatoes from oxidizing (turning brown like apples do). Bring the covered pot to a boil on high heat. Uncover once the pot begins boiling. Allow the potatoes to cook until soft, approx 6 min. Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Add potatoes to the soup pot.

Cook 2 chicken breasts seasoned on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning. Once the chicken is cooked, cube and add to soup.

Add 2 cups half and half and 2 chicken bouillon cubes to the pot. Simmer covered for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally. It turned out great and the babe-da liked it too. This recipe probably serves 6 to 8 people easy. I'll be eating a lot of soup. We'll see if it freezes well.