Chicken Rice Soup

I remember the first time I had chicken rice soup. I don't remember where it was, but I was with my auntie Ruth, and we were at a big department store somewhere close to her house. They had a little restaurant in the back and I was hungry so we went and I had my first bowl of chicken rice soup. I remember being surprised by the rice and immediately in love. Since then, I've always enjoyed it. Also, I miss my Aunt Ruth greatly. Sweetest lady in the world. And so sassy.

Pioneer Woman's soup looked simple and fast, which is always a good thing. I didn't have the yellow food coloring on hand but if I had, I would have used it. Because her grandmother used it, and Ree loved her so she used it. And I love Ree in my own way, so I would have used it too.

But I didn't have it so I didn't.

Anyway this soup was darned tasty and I couldn't get enough of it. It wound up being nice and hearty because I think I used a little more chicken meat than called for and all the rice. I ate the leftovers with a few crackers and a squirt of Sriracha (an asian chili sauce) and it was delicious.

Here's what you need. Chicken, green pepper, celery, pimentos, onion, butter, flour (not shown) and 8-10 chicken bouillon cubes, water, and if so inclined, yellow food coloring. Oh and I tossed in some carrots because I like carrots.

Oh and rice, silly. I made mine a little bit beforehand using the leftover chicken broth from the mexican rice. Yummers.

Off camera now, because I'm a ditz, boil your gallons of water and add your bouillon cubes. I started with 8 and then decided to go for 10 after tasting. Let is sit and simmer over medium or medium low heat while you do the other steps.

Dice up your veggies, drain your pimentos and set aside.

Mmm veggie goodness.

Now in a frying pan, add 4 tablespoons of butter and melt. When melted, add 4 tablespoons of flour. I went a little heavy handed accidently so my roux was a teensy bit thick. It didn't matter in the end. Cook for a couple of minutes, then dump it on into your chicken broth, whisking to incorporate. You aren't looking for a thick broth or anything, it just adds a tiny bit more substance and nice cloudiness.

I cleaned out the skillet I used for the roux and added 2 more tablespoons of butter. Melt dat buttah, yo.

And add your veggies! I threw in a few cloves of crushed garlic too. Because I can't HANDLE not having garlic.

Saute for a few minutes, I wanted mine cooked down a little more so I put a lid on for a few minutes. I wanted those carrots to not be crunchy anymore. Oh and I tossed my onion powder in here too.

Add your chopped up chicken. Ree has instructions for using raw chicken in her recipe linked down near the bottom. Check her page if you don't have ready cooked chicken like I did.

Cook for a few minutes more to make the whole thing happy.

Add it to your broth.

Then add your rice. You should probably start with half your rice and see how thick your soup is. I love rice so I wound up adding it all.

Dig in!

It was so good, just the right amount of flavor. And so fast.

Chicken and Rice Soup (original recipe by Pioneer Woman here)

• 1 cup (before Cooking) White Rice
• 2 whole Chicken Breasts
• 8 pieces (to 10) Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• 2 quarts (plus 2 Cups) Water
• ¼ cups Onion
• ¼ cups Green Bell Pepper
• ¼ cups Pimento (drained)
• ¼ cups Celery
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Flour
• Yellow Food Coloring

Cook up some rice. Wash two whole chicken breasts (skin, bones and all) and place them in a pot; cover with 2 quarts of water. Add 8-10 bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until chicken is done, about twenty minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool for a few minutes. Cut all the meat from the bones and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Drain the can of pimentos. Finely dice the vegetables. In a skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. When it is all melted, make a roux by adding 4 tablespoons of flour. Stir until thickened and then add it to the pot of chicken broth. Stir well.

In a skillet, melt another few tablespoons of butter and throw in all of the diced veggies. Stir, then add the chicken. Sprinkle with a dash or two of salt. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chicken mixture to the broth.

Add in the cooked rice. (You can vary the amount of rice based on your preferences). Add in 2 to 3 drops of yellow food coloring.

Ladle into a bowl. Enjoy!

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Simple and comforting.