Chicken & Rice Soup

Healthy comfort food is the absolute best! This soup is bursting with flavor and healthy ingredients.

Start with a whole chicken. That’s where the flavor gets real!

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken (3-5lbs)

  • Stuff with 1 lemon, sprig of rosemary, 4-5 garlic cloves

  • Spray with olive oil and season with your favorite seasoning (I used a chicken rub from Hasty Bake)

• 4-5 whole carrots, sliced thin

• 3-5 celery stalks, diced

• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, finely diced

• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp butter

• 8 cups broth (vegetable, chicken, beef) or water

• 1 tsp thyme

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp parsley

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp Alessi Dipping Spices seasoning

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 cup Basamati rice

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Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Stuff chicken and season well. I like to use a foil pan that I can just toss when I’m done.

3. Cook for about an hour and 15 minutes. This will vary depending on your chicken, but make sure you cook to the recommended temp for chicken.

4. Prep all the veggies and spices. When the chicken is getting close to done in the oven, melt butter and add the garlic and onion. Sauté for about 5 minutes then add in the celery and carrots. Sauté another 5 minutes or so and then add all spices and the broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

5. Once the chicken is done, let it cool a bit and then pull off the wings, legs and skin and throw into the broth (this is where the yummy flavor sets in). Once cooled so you can touch, pull the chicken meat off and put in the broth.

6. I like to let mine simmer for a minimum of 4 hours to infuse all the flavors. Once you are about an hour from eating, take out all the bones and skin and discard. Put the rice in and cover for about an hour. You may need to add in more water or broth as the rice will soak up some of the juice!

7. Top with a sprinkle of cheese, Fritos or hot sauce or eat as is!