Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Feeling Blessed with Shriveled Up Chicken

I hope you never get that call "honey - we've been in an accident".  I hope to never get that call again either.  Andy called me several weeks ago on a Friday night.  I had run to do the grocery shopping, he took Bronwyn with him to do a Home Depot and Lowes run.  Divide and conquer - so we thought.  The short story is someone pulled out in front of someone going the opposite direction, she tried to avoid that person and ended up crossing the center line and hitting my family head on.  Thankfully not one was injured, but they did take Miss B to the ER in an ambulance to get checked out.  Before any of this happened, I started the oven and threw some chicken in.  You see, I was planning to make this great soup recipe the next day and I needed roasted chicken.  I do enjoy multitasking… so I figured I'd roast the chicken as I put the groceries away and did other odds and ends.  Then the call came.  While I waited for the second call to find out what hospital to go to, I looked at my chicken through the window of the oven.  Well… it was starting to cook and turn white, but if I turned the oven off at this point it would be partially baked and mostly raw.  If I took it out quick and refrigerated it, what on earth might we die from growing in that mess.  So I left the oven on - attempted to use the timer function which I thought would turn it off (it didn't).  When we got home 2 hours later, the oven was still on.  That poor chicken looked like it had been ridden hard and put away wet.  SO wrinkly and hopelessly dry.  Well, my family was safe, so what if I ruined some chicken.  I tossed it in a container and into the fridge and went to bed.  Woke up the next day and gave the soup a shot.  I cut it up in as tiny pieces as I could and honestly?  You'd never know how dry and gross it really was!  This soup turned out amazing.  It was so good.  It was creamy but not super rich like most cream based soups are.  Enjoy this one - I'm pretty sure this recipe is not one I'll never make again without remembering that scary call but mostly being thankful for God watching my family that night.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup 

1 tsp of olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion
2-3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 cups of homemade chicken stock
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried basil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced (more if you like)
1/2 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup of frozen sweet yellow corn, thawed
2 tbsp corn starch
1 12 oz can evaporated milk

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery once hot. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds. Add the chicken stock, diced chicken, rice, bouillon, basil, sea salt, black pepper and bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Turn the soup up until it boils. Mix the corn starch and evaporated milk thoroughly in a bowl. Add the milk mixture to the boiling soup and stir. Lower the heat and add the corn. Mix thoroughly and simmer for a few more minutes. The soup will thicken as it sits.

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