Homemade Chicken & Rice Soup ... and some Giveaways!

There is nothing like hot soup and home baked bread when the days get chilly. I enjoy them all ~ creamy split pea, potato soup and chicken soup with rice! Since I cooked up a pot of soup today, I thought I'd share the recipe with you.



Chicken Soup with Rice

1 3 lb. broiler-fryer chicken (discard giblets)
6 1/2 cups of water
1 medium onion, cut into large pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into pieces
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 rib celery, sliced into pieces
2/3 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Chopped green onions to garnish

Traditional stove top method for chicken & stock:
Place your chicken, water, large onion pieces, celery, garlic, and bay leaf in a stockpot over high heat; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken from stock. Strain chicken stock and chill; discard vegetables. Skin and bone chicken. Pull meat into bite-size pieces; chill.

Crock pot method:
Place same ingredients as above into your crock pot. Cook for 6 hours on high or until chicken is really tender. And then follow the remainder of above instructions. I prefer to use my crock pot since I put the chicken on in the morning before school. By the time Jeffrey comes home, it is ready to be made into a fresh soup.

Now skim any fat from the chicken stock. Combine stock, carrots, celery, rice, chopped onion, bouillon (if desired), salt and pepper in a large soup pot on the stove over medium-high heat; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes, adding chicken pieces during last 10 minutes.

Frugal tip: I only add about 1/2 the chicken back into the soup. I save the other 1/2 for making chicken tacos the next day for lunch.

If you wish, garnish with green onions and serve warm with fresh bread & butter. Of course, always get creative and use what you have. I always add lots & lots of carrots if I have them available. Sometimes I don't use buillon at all. Sometimes I don't even add the chicken ... I just save it for another meal and use lots of carrots & celery. It is delicious that way too!

This recipes makes about 9 cups of soup. Hope you enjoy it!


Now for some fun giveaways!
Dalyn at Muckbooks N Aprons is hosting a giveaway for one of her homemade goat milk soaps and a lotion bar. She is also beginning her journey with raw foods which I find fascinating. Can't wait to read more.

Another giveaway is going on at Living Off The Grid. Ang is giving away a delightful farm basket of homemade goodies. She has just moved to a 40 acre farm and has gone completely off grid. That has always been a dream of mine and I look so forward to reading about her adventures.