Chicken Vegetable Chowder

Every so often we offer up our house to an organization called Young Life and a group of Junior High kids along with their leaders, comes  over for dinner and to learn a little about the Lord. There are some really great questions, discussion, encouragement and lots of eating. We try to make something the kids will enjoy that is also good for them and can be made in mass quantities, as most of them are literally undergoing the biggest growth spurt of their lives. This balance of nutritious/delicious is hard to get right when a junior high kid is the target audience but I know we've done it when several girls ask me for the recipe at the end of the night. Victory.

So here it is: 

• Chicken bones boiled in 2-3 C water to make stock. Separate out bones and add stock to crockpot
• 2 Onions, 1bushel celery plus 1C water in blender til pulpy, cook down in pan til thick, no liquid. I also add a couple shakes of salt to help the vegetable sweat and bring out the flavor. Add to crock pot with:
• 1 Can cream of chicken
• 2 Cans cream of pablano/jalapeño
• 16oz shredded carrots
• 1bag Frozen corn
• 2-3 Chicken breast cut small and cooked separately
• As needed  add 1-2 C good water, like the kind you would drink from a glass

You can serve the soup alone or with noodles. I keep them separate and let kids combine them in their bowl.

Cauliflower Cheesy shells
Cook 1 box/bag of shells (or whatever noodle you like), drain, add 1-2 bags previously frozen cauliflower to pot with1 can cream of chicken.
Once all is warm add 1C shredded cheese on medium/low til cheese is melted.

*This is also a really good way to make mac n cheese but with a 2:1 vegetable to pasta ratio. 
The cauliflower is mild and dense enough to mimic the noodles and work well with the cheese. 

Sorry for the lack of finished product pics. Things got a little hectic and in the end all the food was gone. I guess that counts as success.