Chase Those Colds Away - Homemade Chicken Rice Soup

So they say chicken soup is good for the soul, but guess what, it's also great in easing the symptoms of the common cold.  There is no cure for the common cold, but eating chicken soup will definitely help you feel better.  It acts as an anti-inflammatory and temporarily speeds up the moving of mucus.  I know that sounds gross, but it may help the body kick a cold by battling the congestion and the inflammation.  It works by helping all that mucus move along and out of your body.

Most colds last 8 -9 days or sometimes up to 3 weeks.  That's a long time to not feel so good, and it's really rough if you work outside the home.  I have a few simple remedies in keeping colds at bay all year long - I constantly wash my hands, I keep sanitizer and wipes in my purse for when I am not near soap and water, I keep my hands away from my face, I wipe the handle of my shopping basket down before I touch it, get enough sleep and eat right.  There is no sure cure for the common cold but some of these strategies will help keep the germs away.

There are no colds in my house right now, but I made this Chicken Rice Soup anyway.  I usually make Chicken Noodle Soup in the Fall and Winter months, but decided to switch it up and use rice instead.  It was awesome!  Recipe below.

A few of my ingredients and get the chicken cooking in the pot.

 Dice celery, carrots, onions and add some seasonings to the pot.

 Cook up the rice and add to the pot, so delicious.

 Take the chicken out of the pot, remove from the bones and chop it up.

 Hot, yummy tasting, cold chasing, homemade Chicken Rice Soup. It's SOUL good!

 Homemade Chicken Rice Soup

Ingredients

6 cups of water

4 large chicken thighs

3 ribs of celery with leaves, diced

4 carrots, diced

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 32 oz. box of chicken broth

2 - 32 oz. boxes of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme

3 cups of cooked white rice, cook according to the package directions

Directions

In a large soup pot, add the 6 cups of water and the chicken thighs, leave the skin and bones on the thighs. Cook on high heat until the chicken looks done, about 30 - 40 minutes, depending on the size of the thighs. Reduce heat to medium, leave the chicken in the pot and add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, broth, stock, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes.  In the meantime, start cooking the rice in a separate pot.

Remove the chicken from the pot to a bowl, let it cool. When you are able to handle it, remove the skin and pull the chicken off the bones.  Discard the skin and bones, chop the chicken up and add back to the pot. When the rice is ready, add to the pot, breaking up any rice that is stuck together.  Cook for another 5 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

Chicken Casserole

 I was fooling around in the kitchen on Monday and I didn't know what to make for dinner.  So I took chicken tenderlions out of the freezer, but still didn't know what I was going to do with them.  I started looking in the pantry, hmmmm......  What's that, stuffing mix? and what's that, cream of celery soup and chicken broth?  I put all of these things on my counter, was looking at them, and the gears started to turn.  With a few other things I threw in the mix, Chicken Casserole was born, this is how I made it.

Start with these few ingredients.  Check out the price on the chicken tenders $2.55 for 1 1/4 lbs , not bad!

 Into a frying pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper and brown them up.

 While the chicken is cooking, mix up the stuffing mix and the soup.

 Cut chicken into bite size pieces, put into a casserole dish and top with the soup.

 Spread stuffing mix over the chicken mixture, drizzle with butter and bake.  Dinner's ready!

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

Cooking Spray

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. package of fresh chicken tenderloins

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 - 10 3/4 oz. can of cream of celery, cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup of milk

1 box of Stove Top Stuffing Mix, any flavor

1 cup of chicken broth

1/2 stick of butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a casserole dish with the cooking spray and set aside.  Pour the olive oil into a medium frying pan on medium - high heat.  Add the tenderloins and season with the salt and pepper.  Cook on both sides until done.  Turn the heat off and let cool.  Meanwhile, whisk the soup and the milk together in a medium size bowl and set aside.  In another medium size bowl mix the stuffing mix, 3 tablespoons of the melted butter and the chicken broth.  When tenderloins are cool, cut into pieces and layer in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Pour the soup mixture over them, then spread the stuffing mix on top.  Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter on top of the stuffing mix.  Bake for 40 minutes or until the stuffing mix is brown and crispy on top.