Tonight’s Dinner: Chicken and rice soup recipe

Chicken soup is almost always the soothing go-to when you’re sick. But instead of the plain old broth with bits of chicken, turn that soup into a sumptuous comfort food with rice and veggies.

Chicken soup is a favorite for sick and healthy people alike. You can buy it in the can or better yet, make it from scratch. It may seem like a huge undertaking, but it has to be one of the easiest soups out there to make — just a few chicken breasts, a bouillon cube or two and some water. Seriously it’s that easy. It’s also pretty boring. That’s why I love to make my own.

If you make it from scratch in your own kitchen, you can do whatever you want with it. Want it creamier? Add some milk or a nice buttery roux. Love vegetables? Go ahead and throw whatever you have in your fridge in that pot. Like your soup on the spicier side? Add an extra dose of ground pepper. Looking for something a little more filling? Add some ramen noodles. The options are endless and the final result is so much better than those little red and white cans.

I recently added rice to my pot of soup and the result was absolutely out of this world. The soup was thick, rich and some of the best homemade chicken soup I’ve ever had. The fact that the temperature was in the low 50s outside made this steaming bowl of goodness even better. So if you’ve never had rice in your chicken soup, don’t wait 30-odd years like I did. Try it now. I promise you’ll be happy you did.

Chicken and rice soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 cups water
• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the water in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pot, chop into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
2. While the broth continues to simmer, melt four tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the flour and mix together until a thick and creamy roux is created. Stir this roux into the chicken broth.
3. Melt the last tablespoon of butter over medium heat in the same skillet. Add the shallots, celery, carrots and chopped chicken and cook for two to three minutes. Add the chicken mixture, parsley, rice, salt and pepper to the simmering broth and stir until well-combined. Serve immediately.

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Other chicken soup recipes

Cheddar chicken soup

Mexican chicken soup

Slow cooker chili chicken soup