I had a craving for chicken and rice soup the other day and was looking for an easy way to make broth without resorting to canned broth. Allrecipes.com has a recipe that’s a compromise between canned and homemade broth. It uses a pre-cooked, store bought chicken and simmers the skin and bones in a mixture of water and canned broth. Sure, it’s cheating a bit, but you’d never know!
Store bought rotisserie chicken comes in a variety of flavors now. I used one with cracked pepper and sea salt, so I didn’t need to add additional salt and pepper to the soup. Other flavors would work equally well, such as rosemary and garlic, but you should adjust your seasonings accordingly. You probably don’t want to go with barbeque or buffalo seasoned chicken…but, hey, maybe that’s exactly the effect you’re going for!
Ingredients
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 quarts of water
- 1 store bought chicken
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 small carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Separate the chicken meat from the skin and bones. Set the skin and bones aside and tear the meat into bite-size pieces.
- Bring broth and 1 quart of water to a simmer over medium-high heat in a large stock pot. Add skin and bones. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes, partially covered.
- Strain broth, discarding skin and bones. Return to pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rice, chicken meat and remaining quart of water. Return to simmer and cook partially covered about 30 minutes longer, or until rice and carrots are tender.
- Stir in parsley and remove from heat.
Notes
Leftover soup can be stored in the freezer.
