Homemade Chicken & Rice SoupMaking homemade chicken soup is not difficult! Matter of fact when you see how easy it is and the difference in flavor (not to mention the nutrition value) of the homemade version versus the canned...you will never go back to the can version again!
Here is the list of things you will need (noted in bold):
Stock pot (or the pot you use to make your spaghetti in.)
Colander
Bowl (large)
Chicken - for this recipe I used 3 chicken breasts found on sale. When I see chicken breasts on sale...I will pick up 2 or 3 packages and freeze them. Depending on the size of your stock pot, you may use a whole chicken or two as Crystal recommends. Crystal (The Family Homestead) has a wonderful recipe for making what I call Bouncing Chickens...Four Meals from Two Chickens shows you how to use your time in the kitchen wisely by preparing something so simple ahead of time but also how to stretch your budget. Crystal also shares step by step photos on her site and blog with other recipes - this is so wonderful for us visual learners! I like to be able to see what it is supposed to look like when I'm done. Crystal makes everything look so easy and takes the fear out of trying something new! (Thank you Crystal for doing that!!)
Rice (uncooked - set aside - this will be added later on in the cooking process. You can use noodles of any type if you prefer. If you want to make chicken noodle soup use spaghetti noodles broken in half. You will have to gauge (eyeball) how many noodles you wish to have remembering that noodles get bigger after they are cooked.)
Celery (washed, cut in large pieces to help make straining easier)
Carrots (washed, peeled, ends cut off and cut into large pieces. Take the discarded parts of the carrot other veggies and place in a bin that has a lid and can be used for composting. My mother-in-love using a glass container, similar to the one I have in my kitchen and at the end of the day throws in her dishpan water, takes the collection outside, digs a hole, pours in the collection or mixture, bury and cover over. Her garden produces the most wonderful veggies you have ever seen.)
Onion (peeled, cut into quarters or use dried onions)
Garlic (if you don't have cloves you can use the powdered version.)
Two Bay Leaves
Salt, Pepper and other seasonings you may have on hand. I like to use Thyme, Oregano and Basil. Anything that goes well with chicken can be used.
(Having the last ingredients on hand is wonderful for making and including in making a vegetable stock as well. Celery and Carrots are a main staple that is purchased and kept in my refrigerator. Don't throw out those shavings from your carrots...store them in a freezer container to be used later on when making any kind of stock or to be used for composting. Potatoes that have gone a bit past their prime? Peel, wash and dry with paper towels and freeze. As my mother always used to say to me...Waste Not Want Not!)
Water (see amount below)
What to do:
- Wash/rinse off chicken breasts and place in the stock pot along with the other ingredients and fill with water within an inch(?) from the top.
- Bring stock to a boil and then turn down to simmer until the chicken has completely cooked. Cooking time will depend on the type of chicken you use and it's thickness.
- Notice the wonderful aroma coming from your kitchen. It will fill your house and if you have puppies like we do...they tend to hang out very close to the kitchen, pretending to be sleeping, in hopes of whatever it is that smells so good will accidentally drop on the floor!
- Strain stock into another bowl and allow chicken and veggies to cool.
- Cut chicken or shred. Cut up carrots and celery to bite size pieces. (Blaine likes to have the veggies small so I will quarter the carrots to make even smaller)
- Place stock back into your stock pot, add chicken and veggies (keeping the bay leaves in) and bring back to a slight boil. Add rice (I used 1 cup), cover and let cook for 20 minutes. Be sure to check the instructions on the cooking time for the rice you are using...that will be the time needed to finish cooking the rice.
- Set table and enjoy!
On Thursdays one of the areas in my home that I do "Detailing" in is the kitchen. Knowing that I will be in this room for a bit of time...I will make bread or soup and while I'm waiting for these things to rise and cook, I continue on with my tasks around the kitchen.
I used Crystal Miller's recipe (Mom's Basic Bread) in her Bread Making 101 section. You will find everything you need to know about bread making and flour choices on her site. This is a no fail recipe! Making bread is not difficult...once you taste the "real" versus the "fake" stuff you find in stores...you may never go back to buying from the stores. Check out how much you save making your own on Crystal's site. You may be surprised how inexpensive making bread can be and without the added bonus of chemicals and whatever else they put in bread these days.
Something I had to learn was the timing of everything. If you want to have bread fresh and hot straight from the oven to go with your meal...think about how long each recipe takes and do a little bit of preplanning. This is something that may take several tries and for me...when I make a mistake I use it as a learning experience and don't consider mistakes a failure at all! From each one...you learn something valuable!
I'm almost 39 and I'm still learning!
My Love to You All!
Catherine
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