From the menu of -- Waterstone Grill

A. Joanne Tubo sent us the recipe after making what seemed to her to be a small batch. "I have to think about serving 80 people or 160 people,” she said, and she sent a recipe that called for three pounds of cheese. We’ve cut it back a bit to make something that’s more family scale. If you want to try the large-scale version, it’s on the menu at Waterstone Grill until sometime in November. When Tubo was creating the soup last fall, she added the green beans and corn niblets only because they were on hand after a buffet party. When they turned out to improve the soup, they became a part of the recipe.

Waterstone’s Southwest Cheesy Chicken Soup

Hands on: 25 minutes

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Makes 10 cups soup

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 medium white onion, cut into pieces

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 pounds Velveeta processed cheese

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/2 teaspoon Adobo seasoning

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 cups canned or frozen corn

1/2 cup green beans, optional

3 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into thin strips, fried in oil and seasoned, optional

Sour cream, for garnish

Avocado, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish.

Season chicken breasts with cumin, salt and pepper and place in prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes or just until chicken is done. Remove from oven and cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

While chicken is cooking, in the bowl of a food processor, add carrots, celery and onion and pulse until finely chopped.

In a large saucepan, bring chicken stock and finely chopped vegetables to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until stock is reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes.

When stock has reduced, add chicken pieces and cook 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add Velveeta; stir until cheese is completely melted. Add cream, half-and-half, chili powder, Cajun seasoning, Adobo seasoning and cayenne. Return soup to a simmer and add corn and green beans, if using. Taste for seasoning with additional salt, pepper and cumin.

If desired, garnish soup with tortilla strips, fried in oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. Serve with sour cream and chunks of fresh avocado.

Per 1-cup serving: 667 calories (percent of calories from fat, 64), 40 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 51 grams fat (32 grams saturated), 195 milligrams cholesterol, 1,861 milligrams sodium.

Is there a restaurant recipe you'd like to make at home? Tell us and we'll try to get it. We'll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to svanatten@ajc.com and put "From the menu of" in the subject line.