Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and Rice Soup is our family “Comfort Soup” when feeling sick and under the weather.  It won’t cure the stuffy nose, the coughing or the achiness, but it will soothe the body with warmth, nourishment and makes everything ok for a little while.  The cold season definitely is here and our family have felt it with just a month into the school year. When sickness hits home, Chicken and Rice Soup is on the menu.  I’ve made it twice last week and froze some for later.

The recipe is simple to make using basic ingredients.  It has been the same for the most part with a few changes made through the years since my first child was little.  During those younger years it was hard to feed them anything when they were sick.  Any food or liquid I could get into their little bodies was a huge accomplishment.  A simple broth soup with  soft creamy vegetables and protein came about. They loved it then and {maybe more} now.

k

6-8 serverings
{ print recipe Here }

 Ingredients

10      cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
2        cups cold water
2        cups leek {1 med leek}, white and tender green only, chopped 1/8 inch thick
1 1/2  cups carrots {2 med carrots}, shredded {use the coarse side of the cheese grater}
1        cup celery {2 celery stalks}, chopped
3/4     cup white rice, washed and rinsed {not cooked}
1 1/2  cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2     cup scallions, thinly sliced
1        teaspoon sesame oil
salt  and pepper to taste

. . . . . . .

 Shred carrots on the cheese grater and chop leek and celery.

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Wash and rinse white rice with cold water a few times to get rid of most of the starch {the water will look milky during the washing}.  Stop washing when the water is almost clear.  Add the white rice along with carrots, leek and celery to the pot.

Pour chicken stock and water into the pot.

Turn the heat to High and stir occasionally until the soup comes to a boil.  Turn the heat down to Low and cover the pot with a lid, leaving a little opening for steam to let out.  Cook it for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours, stirring it occasionally.

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After 1 – 1 1/2 hours of cooking, all the ingredients will be soft and tender with a creamy broth.

Add cooked shredded chicken, green onions, sesame oil, salt and pepper to the pot.

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Stir all the ingredients together and let it cook for about 5 minutes longer then serve.

A few things I did differently to serve this soup to my kids when they were little:
1.  The vegetables were chopped smaller.
2.  Left the green onions out from the ingredients just because it has a stronger taste.
3.  Added extra chicken broth to their soup bowls to make it easy for them to eat/drink.

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Soup in mugs is a great way to serve a crowd or just for one sitting on a comfy sofa with a warm blanket.

After all the kids were healthy and well again, it was my turn to get the runt of it … actually a Triple Dose of it!  They were pretty much over and done with their colds in 3 days where I would be just getting started.

What is your “comfort food” during the cold and flu season?

 { print recipe Here }

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posted by: Kay