By Veterans Day week. I wear Ruben's dog tags every day now, but this week I wore them outside my shirt. A few students asked about them. I told them about my brother — not the hard parts, just that he was a soldier and a good man and that he loved green chile and football and laughing too loud at his own jokes. The kids listened in that way teenagers listen when they can tell you mean it.
I've been thinking about what it means to carry him. Not in the grief sense — I've done a lot of that work — but in the legacy sense. Ruben was twenty-one when he enlisted. He had opinions about what he wanted to do with his life but didn't have the patience to wait for circumstances to align. He just went. He died at thirty-eight, same age I am now, which I keep thinking about. He had thirty-eight years and he used them fully. I'm trying to use mine the same way.
Made green chile chicken soup this week — the one I call Ruben's soup, even though he never had a recipe. It's just what I imagine he would have made if he'd been the kind of man who cooked: rich broth, green chile heat, chicken shredded by hand, hominy for body. Simple and honest and warming. I make it every November. It's the meal I eat when I want to feel close to him.
Recruiting season for next year begins. I'm watching the eighth graders now. There's a kid at Jefferson Middle who runs a forty in under four-seven. I'll be patient. I'll watch from a distance. But I'll be watching.
Ruben’s soup — the green chile version I described — doesn’t have a written recipe, and I don’t think it ever will. But when I want that same feeling of warmth and weight and closeness, I reach for a stew that does what that bowl always does for me: it fills the room, it slows things down, it asks you to stay at the table a little longer. This creamy chicken and broccoli stew is what I made after I took the dog tags off that Friday night — rich, shredded chicken, a thick and honest broth, something that could hold the whole week. It’s not Ruben’s recipe, but it’s the kind of meal he would have eaten two bowls of.
Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Stew
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 3 cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Sear 4–5 minutes per side until golden, then transfer to a plate. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
- Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the same pot. Once melted, add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Make the roux. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook for 1–2 minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste.
- Add broth and chicken. Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring to prevent lumps. Return the seared chicken to the pot. Add thyme and smoked paprika. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Shred the chicken. Remove chicken from the pot and shred by hand using two forks. Return shredded chicken to the pot.
- Add broccoli and cream. Stir in broccoli florets and pour in the milk or heavy cream. Simmer for an additional 8–10 minutes until broccoli is tender and stew has thickened to your liking. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve. Ladle into deep bowls. Serve with crusty bread or over rice if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 520mg