The Domestic Empress

 Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

I know it’s kind of silly to share a soup recipe with you when it’s about to be summer time and far too hot to even think about soup, but it’s just that delicious. Besides, there are plenty of chilly, rainy days left in the spring so you might think about mixing this up and freezing it until the perfect cool evening. I think I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com but I’ve made so many changes to it at this point I like to think of it as “mine.”  The first time I made it, I took most of it to a sick friend. But from now on I’ll always double the recipe so I can always have some for myself too. I can eat this soup any time of day or night. Often I will get up and heat it up for breakfast.

You’ll need:

1 1/2 cups chopped celery (I always skip this and never miss it, but if you like celery, go for it. Carrots are also a good addition)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (again, I skip this part, but you might not want to)
1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (I used beef bouillon this time. It seriously doesn’t matter)
1 14oz can of chicken broth
1 14 oz. can of beef broth
1 cup margarine 
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
6 cups milk, divided (into what, I don’t know. I just leave the milk in the carton and pour cups as needed)
salt and pepper to taste (here’s your chance to get creative. season at will!)

Step One: In a large pot over high heat, combine the celery, onions, rice, bouillon, broth and water. 

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step Two: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter or margarine.

Slowly add the flour, stirring often, to make a roux.

Add 4 cups of milk, 1/2 cup at a time, while constantly stirring.

Add this and the chicken to the rice mixture and return the rice mixture to the stovetop over low heat.

Step Three: If the soup seems too thick, add some or all of the remaining 2 cups of milk. This is what it looked like before I added the rest of the milk.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer for at least an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

The charm of this soup is that it’s a stand-alone meal. It tends to get pretty thick so if you prefer a thinner soup you may want to add more milk than what it calls for. A bowl of this will fill you up in no time, and stick around for a while.

It’s also very forgiving. One time I didn’t have bouillon so I used a random packet of mexican seasoning we had kicking around the cabinet. That was the same time I had to use three different kinds of milk because we had 3 cartons that were each almost empty. We also happened to be out of flour and I had to use cornstarch instead. This soup still turned out awesome. I think short of burning it, you pretty much can’t mess it up.

Also, because it’s fairly bland it’s great for sick days, but it’s also great for experimenting. Treat each bowl as a new dish and find creative ways to “spice” things up. My favorite way to eat it is to add some buffalo sauce for a nice kick. I would be interested to hear other ways you all think this soup might be delicious. Especially if there are other vegetables you think might be tasty if included.