Chicken Soup for the Cold

Bryan's been sniffly all weekend, so I decided to throw together some chicken soup for him yesterday to warm him up and get him on the mend.

This is just a basic recipe, but I thought I'd share it in case you're like me and always have frozen chicken, onion, carrots and celery ready to go. I used frozen chicken thighs because that's what I had, but you could use any cut as long as it has bones (otherwise, use chicken stock instead of water). Ideally, I would have thawed the chicken beforehand, then browned it before adding the water to give the soup a little more flavor, but it turned out well regardless.

Also, take note that the rice will soak up all of the water. If you're not going to eat this all in one setting, be sure you have some extra stock on hand to add to what will look like gumbo after has sat in the pan for more than, say, 20 minutes.

Chicken Soup for the Cold

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. chopped yellow onion

1/2 c. sliced celery

1/2 c. sliced carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 chicken thighs (or whatever you have as long as it has bones)

6 c. water

2 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1 c. uncooked rice

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot, and cook until soft, for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently, then add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add chicken and water and bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour. Remove chicken, then add salt, pepper and rice, bring back to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, after the chicken has cooled, throw away the bones and skin, then shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. When the rice is finished cooking, return the chicken to the pot, stir to heat chicken through, then serve.