Foodie Friday (on Wednesday)

One of my favorite wintertime meals is, of course, a big bowl of steamy-hot soup. Rachael Ray brought me this little pot of heaven:

Chicken in A Pot, No Pie (I've made a few minor changes to the recipe on Food Network based on what I like)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 starchy potatoes, skin left on and diced (think relatively small dice - it has to fit on your spoon!)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with leafy green tops, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, chopped
1 small bunch pencil asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas

Method:
Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and butter. Melt butter into oil then add the potatoes, onions, celery and carrots, adding them to the pot as you chop them. Add bay leaf and season veggies with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, cook 5 to 6 minutes to soften them a bit. Add flour and cook another minute then add stock and put a lid on the pot and raise heat to bring to a quick boil. Slide in chicken and cook 5 minutes. Stir in asparagus and cook 3 minutes more. Turn off heat and add the peas. Stir to combine and adjust salt and pepper, to your taste.

Enjoy!