Donna’s Chicken and Rice Soup

Contributed by: Donna Wheatley

When Earl and I were very young and living in New Orleans with two babies, I did all I could to conserve funds. I used to buy whole chickens for forty-nine cents a pound on sale, take them home, cut them up, and freeze the “good parts” for meals, and then put all the wings, backs, necks, giblets, and skin from those four chickens into the pot, instead of the whole chicken I now use. Honestly, there was just as much meat from the scrap parts of those four chickens as is in one whole chicken, and I considered it to be “free”.

A variation of this recipe is to cook the same ingredients in a Crock Pot with NO water all day. When it’s done, you’ll be amazed at how much liquid cooked out of that chicken! Be sure to chill it and scrape off the fat, which will be considerable. You will get the richest, most delicious, fat free broth you can imagine! I often do this, then use the meat for casseroles and use the stock for other things, like Turkey Dressing.

In a big pot, place

1 whole chicken (remove giblets)

2 stalks of celery, sliced

3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large onion, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1-tablespoon salt

1-teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon seasoned pepper (or 1/2-teaspoon black pepper)

Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook about one hour until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove chicken from pot, cool, and remove meat from the bones. Discard skin and bones. Put meat back into the pot. Add a can of stewed tomatoes and 1/2 pound frozen peas and carrots, if you want to.

Cook rice in a separate pot. (Bring to a boil, 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 cup of raw rice. Cover, and cook on low for 20 minutes.)

To serve, put some rice in the bottom of a bowl and ladle the chicken soup over it.

Jones :: Sep.13.2007 :: Entrees, Soup ::

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