a simple real food recipe :: chicken and rice soup

Oh it’s that time of year 🙂 We are surrounded by hacking, coughing, sneezing, sniffing everywhere we go aren’t we?! Well we just spent a lovely morning in a green snot infested library storytime…it was great.

My answer? A little extra vitamin C and D and…load them up with chicken stock! It is that simple!  If you have never made stock, I promise you will not screw it up, and you are gonna LOVE how it kicks colds out of your house! If you aren’t there yet, try the Pacific Organic brand of VEGGIE stock or whatever you can find that is organic and has  BPA free container. You won’t get all of the healing nutrients from the bones and gelatin, but I would rather you still make your own soup than buy that canned stuff that is lined with BPA and doesn’t have an ounce of nutrition to it.

Because you see…its more than just the chicken stock – although that is a big part! Real garlic and onions are incredibly nourishing and very healing to the immune system! So load it up! I’m so excited to share this soup with you because it is so versatile, and SO easy! Enjoy!

(And for gosh sakes – send a memo to the moms around here to keep their babies home from library time when they are so sick!)

Here’s what you’ll need:

1-2 cups cooked chicken from your weekly whole chicken (either crockpotted or roasted chicken works!)

1-2 cups cooked rice from your freezer stash

1 quart chicken stock

3 TB friendly fat to cook in (butter, coconut oil, lard, or tallow – too hot for olive oil though)

1 small/medium onion, chopped

1 heaping TB minced garlic

3 celery stalks, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped (scoop out the seeds and juices before)

1 bay leaf

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

¼ tsp cayenne (optional if you don’t like the kick – it clears the sinuses though! And it is really yummy in this!)

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with raw cheese or sour cream if desired

1. Saute the onion, carrot, celery in the friendly fat for 5-10 minutes until tender. Add a few pinches of salt to bring out their juices and make them sweeten a bit.
2. Add the stock, chicken, rice, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer for as short as 10 minutes or as long as 30 depending on the time you have. The flavors do enhance the longer you simmer on very low, but it definitely is still good if you are short on time and can only simmer for 10 🙂
4. Top with shredded raw cheese or sour cream if desired.

Kitchen Tips:

1. This amount made enough for our family of 4 with enough left over for lunch for the girls and I to have the next day! This does freeze very nicely so you can double batch it and freeze! Freeze it in single portions for on the go lunches!
2. Because the chicken and rice are already cooked this meal comes together VERY quick! It pays to batch cook and freeze!
3. Use brown rice pasta or quinoa vs the rice if you want. Or skip the grain and add more meat or veggies if you wish. The rice is one of my secrets for stretching pastured chicken – I will admit pastured chicken is more expensive than conventional – but if you buy and cook whole chickens and stretch it in soups and skillets or by adding rice you can make a whole chicken last for a week.
4. Use whatever veggies are in your veggie bin or are in season! I always have carrot and celery around so this is a great meal when I’m running low in veggies for the week. In the summer I will make this with zucchini and green beans while they are in season, and in the winter I will add spinach or kale sometimes when those are in season. Keep in mind if you are actually feeding this to the kids when they are sick – the blander the better – keep it to the carrot and celery and skip the harder veggies like kale.

YOUR TURN!

What are your secrets to keeping your family healthy during the cold season? Let me know how you like the soup if you try it!

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and The Polikva Family’s Family Table Tuesday, and Holistic Squid’s Party Wave Wednesday!