Smoky Chicken and Vegetable Chowder

I LOVE Chowder...especially in the Autumn time. We had a vegetable chowder at one of my Kitchen meetings which sparked the idea for this recipe, it's kind of a mix of that and my cheesy potato chowder but with LOTs of vegetables and chicken added. I thought I would make this with a smoky cheese and green chili's to just give it a different yummy flavor. I served this for lunch for my Dad's birthday with my homemade scones on the side. (recipe here) So delicious and so Fall-ish... Enjoy!

Smoky Chicken and Vegetable Chowder
Cook the chicken:
3 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 onion (leave whole, just toss in for flavor, same with the celery)
1/2 stalk celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-6 cups chicken broth, or 4- 6 cups water with 4-6 chicken bouillon cubes
Place all of the ingredients above in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer until chicken is done (30 to 40 minutes). Let cook and strain the broth into another bowl, save the chicken on a plate, and toss the celery, onion, and stuff in your strainer. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces when cool.
Start the soup:
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 large red or green bell pepper, diced (or 1/2 of each)
In a large soup pot or dutch oven, drizzle a Tablespoon or 2 of olive oil, heat over medium high heat until hot. Add the chopped veggies from above to the pot, and stir, let this cook over medium heat for a minute or two until the onion starts to sweat.
Add:
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
2 smaller zucchini, diced
3 to 4 red potatoes, diced (depending on the size)
2 cobs of corn, cut off the cob (I had leftover, great way to use up)
1-4 oz. can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder (optional) if you want it spicy
Stir and cook another couple of minutes until fragrant. Then add enough of your reserved chicken broth to just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until your vegetables are just tender. Add your chopped chicken and 1 Tablespoon dried parsley and let simmer while you make a cheesy white sauce.
To make white sauce:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smokey paprika
2 cups smokey cheddar cheese, grated (I usually find this by the specialty, gourmet cheeses)
In a medium pot over medium heat, melt your butter. Add the flour and whisk into the butter until it's bubbly and no lumps. Let this cook for 1 minute.
Add the milk while whisking so you don't get flour lumps. Stir and cook over medium/high heat until thickened. Add your seasonings and grated cheese. Continue to stir until cheese is melted. At this point taste, add more salt and pepper if needed and more smoked paprika if desired.
Stir this mixture into the soup and heat through. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve with scones, crusty french bread or crackers. Enjoy!!

**If you have broth leftover, freeze in a Tupperware or Ziploc baggie when cool. Great to have on hand for another batch of soup!