Chicken and Brown Rice Soup

It got chilly here this past week! I roasted a chicken earlier in the week, and I had some leftovers, so I used them to make a delicious soup to warm us up. It did the trick. My son and I had been sick for a few days, and chicken soup is so good when you're sick. My Hubbie is not usually a fan of brothy soups, but he loved this. Also, this soup is a nice option to serve if you or someone you're feeding is ding the gluten-free thing. You can also substitute leftover Thanksgiving Turkey for the chicken to use up some leftovers.

Ingredients:

8 cups of chicken stock (I used homemade, and you can find my recipe here)
1 cup of uncooked brown rice
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated on a microplane
2 carrots, sliced into coins
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp pepper
Salt, to taste. If you're using canned broth or bouillon cubes, you won't need to add much, if any. Since my homemade stock doesn't contain salt, I added nearly 2 teaspoons.
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Bring the stock and bay leaves to a low boil in a large pot, add brown rice and continue to simmer. I like to get this going and then start chopping the veggies. Once the veggies are chopped, add them to the pot, and return to a simmer. Cover the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes. After minutes, add the chicken and simmer 10 minutes. Check the carrots and rice to ensure that they are tender. Add seasonings and optional parsley, tasting as you go to make sure it is seasoned enough.

Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Homemade Chicken Stock

It is officially FALL! It is my favorite season. Really I love October - December for the weather and all of the festivities and family togetherness. Being outside is actually bearable here in the Fall. Alabama summers are miserable. The humidity kills this California Girl.

I had every intention of making this soup on Sunday, the first day of fall and making cookies to kick off the season. However, as we were standing in the kitchen discussing what kind of cookies we should make, I noticed one of our upper cabinets was nearly falling off the wall. We rushed to clear it out, and it was a race because it was getting worse by the second. It turns out the builders missed the stud on one side when they were screwing it in. So, we spent the evening at the hardware store and repairing and rehanging the cabinet. We had microwave dinner from the frozen aisle of the store. Not my idea of delicious.

However, this stew most definitely IS my idea of delicious.Chock full of veggies and chicken. It warms the soul. I had been feeling a little sick for a few days and this definitely helped. 

Chicken Stew

4 celery ribs, chopped
5 carrots, sliced into coins
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 red potatoes, diced
1 cup frozen peas
6 cups of chicken broth. (Here is my recipe for  Homemade Chicken Stock)
1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

Optional seasonings, I tend to season differently every time, depending on my mood or what I have. Some of my favorites include:

Rosemary, thyme, sage, red pepper flakes, dill

1lb chicken meat

2 TBS oil or fat


Place veggies, bay leaf, desired seasonings, and broth in crockpot. Turn to high.
Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Brown chicken in oil. Add to crockpot. Cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW all day. Remove chicken, chop or shred the meat. Add to stew, check for seasoning, and serve.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I know, it is waayyyyy too hot to be eating soup this time of year. That's what I was thinking even as we ate this the other night. I can't help it, I'm a soup person. I wish it were fall year round so I could comfortably enjoy soups and stews whenever I want. Sometimes, though, it's just one of "those" days, and I need a comforting bowl of soup.

I've loved Cream of Broccoli soup ever since I was a little girl. I went to lunch with my Mom and some of her work friends, and we all had soups and salads. My Mom ordered Cream of Broccoli for me, it was love at first spoonful. Whenever we visited that restaurant, that's what I ordered.

You will need:

12 ounces, Frozen Chopped Broccoli

2 cups Chicken Broth

2 Tablespoons Butter

⅓ cups Onion, Chopped

1 clove of garlic, grated

2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

⅔ cups Milk

a few pinches of Pepper

salt to taste

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, simmer the broccoli in the broth for 15 minutes. Use a potato masher to smash the broccoli into smaller pieces and thicken the broth.

In a separate skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Then, add the onions  and garlic and saute for 5 minutes or to desired tenderness. Add the flour to the onions and stir well. Heat milk in the microwave for 30 seconds(helps keep the "roux" from clumping) then gradually add the milk and stir until thick. Add this mixture to the broccoli mixture in the pot and stir well. Next, add the cheese, stirring until melted (the heat can be turned off at this point). Finally, add the salt and pepper to taste.

For a broccoli cheddar version, remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese. In the fall, I serve this in bread bowls, as a treat for my hubby.

Chicken & Dumplings

I didn't grow up eating chicken and dumplings. My brother remembers that our Mom made this dish once, and that it was delicious. No doubt it was delicious, my Mom is a fabulous cook, but I don't remember it. It's a shame. My husband has fond memories of his Mom making Chicken and Dumplings, I've never had hers, but he raved about Chicken and Dumplings, so I looked for a recipe. I was blown away by passion some people exhibit in the rolled vs dropped dumpling debate.

These are dropped style dumplings, this was the first time I have made them this way. I usually make more rustic, biscuit-like dumplings, which I still prefer. This recipe is slightly adapted from a version I saw Alton Brown prepare on Good Eats. I love that show. The dumplings are prepared differently than in any other recipe I've seen. This dish is very good, that Alton knows his stuff. If I were to make Chicken and Dumplings for company, I think I would use this recipe, the dumplings turn out very uniform. I always add veggies, so it is more of a meal.

2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup corn 

7 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, at room temperature

Freshly ground black pepper

Steam veggies. Bring 6.5 cups of broth to a strong simmer.

Put 1/2 cup of the broth, the butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium sauce pan, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add all of the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and mix, on low speed, for 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer. Beat until cool and there is no more steam rising. Continue to mix on low, and add the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding another. Transfer the dough to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Cut off 1 corner of the bag to make a quarter-sized opening.
Bring the broth to a slight simmer over medium heat. Pipe 1-inch of the mixture and cut with kitchen shears directly over the broth. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the chicken and veggies and wait for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.  Serve up a nice hot bowl with a little pepper.