Chicken & Rice Soup

Happy Monday! Unfortunately its a not-so-happy one for my honey, he is home sick with some kind of fever/flu from hell... I thought he had slipped away clean after I had mine a couple of weeks ago, but I guess whatever this evil possession is, is going around and its not letting anyone get away! The funny thing is, when I was having my episode, Matt thought I was being a little over dramatic and exaggerating about the constant alternation of chills and sweats. Last night he poked his head out from under his covers and with a sad face said "you were right...." Oh how that made me glow! I tried hiding it of course... but inside I was doing a dance and singing the "I told you so" song :) hehehehe I promise I am not evil, but c'mon ladies, has your man ever made you feel like a wimp over having some pain and then when they have the same pain its like "alert the media, the end is near!!!"? Either way, I felt bad, because I do know exactly how much pain he was in... so I decided to make him one of my favorite healing soups :)

This is a pretty clean, basic chicken soup. Matt loves rice in soup so I subbed out for the noodles. The funny thing is that traditionally, the women in my family have made this soup with rice for many generations. It must be a latin thing. I like to add a little spice to the soup too, spice warms up your body and helps you sweat out toxins!  The garlic I add is also amazing to heal colds/flus. Garlic is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. If you look up health benefits of garlic you will be shocked at what a miracle food it really is! Add as much as possible to your soup to reap the benefits! Cilantro used as garnish at the end is also an incredible antioxidant. I love sprinkling lots on top :) It has a peppery taste and gives your dish a kick, I LOVE!

I don't add celery to this soup because I am not a big celery fan... but you can add it as well as any other veggie you wish.

Another thing I do differently with this soup is I make the rice separately and store it separately. I usually make a big batch of this soup to last a few meals and if the rice sits in the liquid, it will become all mushy. So just warm up some rice when serving each time and plop a big spoonful on top. Looks prettier too :) 

Servings: 4-6 
Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken cutlets or 3 chicken breasts 
• 3 cups cooked long grain white rice (keep separate from the soup and just add it when serving)
• 8 cups water
• 2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (chicken)
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 5 organic carrots, peeled and sliced 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt & Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

• Set a big soup pot on the stove at medium-high heat and drizzle some olive oil on the bottom. 
• Add onion and allow for it to saute for 2 minutes before adding the garlic. 
• Saute until the onion becomes translucent and you can smell the amazing aromas. 
• Add potatoes and carrots. 

• Add pinch of crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. 
• Allow to saute for about 5 minutes. 
• Add water, Better Than Bouillon and bring to a boil. 
• Add chicken. 
• Allow everything to cook together for about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set it on a plate. Take 2 forks and begin to shred the chicken. Add the shredded chicken back into the pot. 
• Continue to cook soup for another 7-10 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender enough to you.
• Scoop into a bowl, add a scoop of rice and sprinkle some chopped up cilantro. Serve to your sickling :)