I absolutely loved Maurice Sendak books when I was a kid. All of his books stand out clearly in my memory, from the wild things to the naked boy in the night kitchen to chicken soup with rice. Chicken soup with rice holds a very nostalgic place in my mind because of his book, even though I never actually ate it as a kid.
One of the many delicious meals that we’ve received from friends this past week was chicken soup with rice. It was SOOOO yummy. (Maurice would definitely approve.) Nate and I were literally fighting over the leftovers the next day. (He won, but in exchange he had to get me lunch at Cafe Borrone.)
My friend Mary Jo made the soup for us. I of course asked her for the recipe. She told me there was no recipe. I told her too bad and that she still had to write out exactly what she did for me. Thankfully, she obliged! I’m just hoping I’ll be able to recreate it!
- 3 chicken breasts, bone-in skin on rib attached
- onion
- carrots
- rice
- chicken broth
- cornstarch
- salt
- pepper
- Boil 3 chicken breasts that have the skin still on and the rib attached, along with a chopped onion for maybe 25-30 minutes in a big pot. Save the broth.
- Cook some carrots (I did them separately in another pan just so they don’t get over-cooked in the soup pot.
- Cook some rice in a couple of cans of chicken broth””again not in the soup pot with the broth you’re saving. (I hate to use up all the good broth in the big pot)
- Tear the chicken off the bones and discard the bones and skin.
- Thicken the broth in the pot with some cornstarch.
- Add the chicken, carrots, rice. Season (salt, pepper, garlic salt””whatever) (Jane note: I could taste the black pepper in Mary Jo’s soup and that was one of my favorite aspects of the flavor.)
- Pour in some frozen peas that you’ve run some hot water over for a minute””the soup will cook them the rest the way, so they’ll hopefully remain a little green, rather than turn yellow.
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
I was just looking for a recipe for Chicken Soup with Rice and this sounds perfect! I loved those books too. They still are some of my favorites!
Sounds so simple, yet so delicious!!!! Yummy!!!
Love chicken soup with rice!
I owe my daughter’s name to Maurice Sendak, actually. “In the Night Kitchen” is dedicated to Sadie, his mother, and it was while reading that book that I decided Sadie would be the winning name.
I love that that is the origin of Sadie’s name!
My daughter loves the chicken soup with rice book, she carries it with her everywhere. We will look up the Night Kitchen and read it too!!
Due to a sick (and spoiled) pooch, I made chicken soup my mom’s way last weekend. She makes the broth then cooks large chunks of potatoes and carrots in it, keeps the chicken in large pieces, and cooks pasta (stars) separately.
This way you can have either chicken soup with celery, onions, and peppers in small pieces, to which you can cut up/shred the carrots, potatoes, chicken to add to it.
Or, we strain the potatoes and carrots, mash them with butter, and eat with the larger chicken pieces on a plate.
I tell you, if you’ve had mashed potatoes and carrots (I like to keep them separate on the plate, but blended is fine too!) cooked in broth and mashed with a little butter, salt and pepper, you are in for some comfort food! Yes, my dogs loved it too! 😉
Definitely take your time healing Jane, sounds like you are eating some great food, keep it coming! And pics of Owen are always welcome! I hope he’s got a Halloween costume in the works?! 🙂
thanks for sharing the recipes!
and yes, owen definitely has a halloween costume…think johnny on karate kid 🙂
Dang, that looks good. Really really good. Especially that it’s so chilly and fall like here {it SNOWED last week!}.
Soup is my favorite food! This looks delicious and I’ll have to check out that book!
This is hilarious — just a few weeks ago I wrote a post about my kids’ obsession with Maurice Sendak and how I had to figure out an overnight chicken soup with rice recipe for their lunchboxes! http://redroundorgreen.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/overnight-soup-or-why-real-lunch-is-important/
that’s so funny you just did a post surrounding that book – great minds think alike! and love the idea of doing a slow cooker soup overnight for kids’ lunches…brilliant!
that’s a great book 🙂
Awesome recipe 🙂
Looks absolutely delicious! Here is a chicken soup you might like to try.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/hearty-chicken-and-vegetable-soup/
Thanks for sharing,
Jenni