Northwest Harvest Gold Soup

I wanted a creamy but not too thick soup a couple of nights ago and had some idea of what it should taste like. I couldn't find what I was looking for so I checked the cupboards and made it up as I went along. It was sooo good, even my very picky DD loved it! The apple,onions, and squash are bountiful during the fall harvest season here in Washington, and the coconut milk is an addition influenced by the many Asian cultures here in the Seattle area.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  large onion
• 3  carrots
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2 (14 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
• 4  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1  apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2  small squash
• 1 -2  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 -2  teaspoon dried sage
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup coconut milk
• 1⁄2 cup  apple juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 2 -3  chicken breast halves (optional)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. SOUP.
2. Chop onions, peel and slice carrots, place in a large pot and saute for 5 minutes in olive oil.
3. Add chicken and beef broth, garlic, and seasonings, cook over medium low heat for 30 minutes or until carrots are tender.
4. While the soup is cooking, cut squash in half, clean out seeds, place in a plastic bag and steam in the microwave for 10 minutes, or until soft.
5. Once the carrots are tender, scrape the steamed squash into the soup and stir.
6. Remove soup from heat and pour into blender container,about 1/2 full. Blend for 1 minute, pour back into pot, repeat a couple of times, this will make the soup mostly smooth but with a little texture.
7. Return all soup to the pot, add coconut milk, apple juice and tabasco sauce, taste for seasoning and add any additions you'd like. Simmer over medium low heat cook for 10 minutes.
8. OPTIONAL CHICKEN BREAST.
9. While the soup is cooking, season the chicken breast halves with salt, pepper and garlic powder and saute in Olive oil, brown lightly on both sides cover and cook until done.
10. Remove chicken from the pan, deglaze the pan with liquid from the soup and add back into the soup pot.
11. For soup with chicken, small dice the chicken breast and place a small amount in each bowl and spoon soup over the top.