Creamy Chicken Soup with Green Chilies (GAPS/Paleo)

 When my foodie friend told me she was going to make some chicken enchiladas, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.  I would use my cauliflower soup to make the "cream" sauce, and use some kind of veggie in place of tortillas. (We don't do coconut milk in place of milk at our house, my family hates it!)

After trying stuffed zucchini (yucky), peppers (overpowering), cabbage (ugly!), and swiss chard(also ugly), I finally gave up and decided to stop making something that obviously didn't want to be made.

But I never forgot the "sauce". It was so yummy and perfect with the tender chicken. And I saw this recipe for Creamy Coconut Green Chili Chicken Soup.

I thought, "Why don't I just post the recipe as soup?"

So, here I am, finally getting the recipe to you. Trust me, you'll love it even though the main ingredient is a vegetable!

Recipe

*5-6 pastured chicken legs

*2 cups water

*sea salt (Celtic, Himalayan) to taste (I used 2 tsp)

*1/2 onion, quartered

*1 head  cauliflower, cut in pieces

*1-2 cloves garlic

*1 7oz can green chilies

*2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

*fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a large covered sauce pan, simmer chicken in salted water for about an hour (or until meat easily comes off the bone). Remove chicken from the pan to cool. Add the cauliflower and onions to the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes, until very soft.

When chicken is cooled, remove the skin, meat, and soft pieces of cartilage from the bones. Cut the meat into small pieces (save the skin and cartilage for the soup if desired).

Put the cooked cauliflower mixture into the blender. Add garlic, vinegar, and skin/cartilage (if using).  Blend until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan and add chicken and green chilies. Heat through (about 10 minutes). Garnish with cilantro. Yum!

I'm not usually a fan of cilantro, but I needed it to take the photo :). (This is not the most beautiful soup!) It turns out I love cilantro in this soup!