Fix and Forget Friday – Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup

I saw the idea for this recipe somewhere, but I didn’t really like the ingredients that it called for……so I changed them up and made this recipe mine. I don’t really mean “mine” because, in an act of graciousness, I did give a bowl to Barry and Annie. I didn’t want to, but I did it. I make sacrifices for my family. Ya know, I don’t even like hot wings – but I think it’s just because I get grossed out by meat that’s on bones. No, I have absolutely no reasoning behind that…..it’s all in my head. But this soup has no bones. It’s a winner! I love that it’s made in the crock pot, but it could easily be adapted and made on the stove.

We need milk, cream of chicken soup, chopped cooked chicken, sour cream, wing sauce, chopped celery and onions, and bleu cheese crumbles. Notice that I don’t have fresh celery. I realized while getting my ingredients out that I didn’t have any left. Okay, so yes I did have some……but it was so limp that it looked like a wet noodle. I pulled out my dehydrated celery instead. I’m sure fresh celery would be WAY better, so don’t be like me and let your celery get limp.

Put your chopped onions in a microwavable bowl and add a tablespoon or two of water. Nuke them for about 1 ½ minutes to get them semi-soft. Make sure it IS a microwaveable bowl, because we really don’t need any exploding dishes that contain white chocolate…..oh wait, that was the Cake Balls, nevermind.

Put your chicken down in your crock pot and add the onions. I always make sure to have extra cooked chicken in my freezer. Sometimes I find a rotisserie chicken on a good sale and I’ll bring it home, chop up the meat and bag it in the freezer. It’s almost an instant meal. I am just full of tips up in here.

*Edited to add – I don’t buy rotisserie chickens anymore……I watched Food, Inc. *Shudder*

I always make a mess mixing up my soup and milk, so I just used my onion bowl and did it that way, before adding it to the pot. I used a whisk and got everything nice and smooth. Please don’t dirty another dish for this. Thank you.

Do you see a problem here? I do. It was at this exact moment that I realized I had chosen the wrong crock pot. Oops. I dirtied up an extra dish. Sadness. Moral of the story – use at least a 4 quart pot.

Mix the soup mixture with the onions and chicken. Time to add the celery! If you are using regular celery, you will want to microwave it with the onions.

Now, add the buffalo wing sauce and sour cream. You can vary the degree of hotness in this recipe by adding more or less hot sauce. I thought ½ cup was good. It was hot, but not hot enough that Annie didn’t lick her bowl clean. If you want to get heartburn and let your nose run, just add more hot sauce. Mix it all up.

Put the lid on and let it cook for 4-5 hours on low heat. This is a great recipe if you have time early in the day, but you’re busy around dinner time. That happens to me regularly. I fixed this while Annie was down for her nap and then I had the rest of the afternoon free with her…..and Elmo.

Will ya look at that? Hello beautiful! It was at the moment that I lifted the lid that I realized I did NOT butter my crock. Oops. Will that goop ever come off? Yes, it did……after a little soaking. So, please don’t be a doofus like me and forget to grease your crock.

Sprinkle each serving with bleu cheese, if you’re risky like that. I didn’t do it……I hate bleu cheese. But Barry thoroughly enjoyed his. This soup is even better the next day!