Soup Kitchen Time!!!

It's chilly, gloomy and windy outside.....a perfect day for soup! Now you all know that I'm not a recipe follower, so there really isn't one for this soup. Everyone knows how to make chicken soup and everyone makes it a different way.....this is just one of the ways I've made it for years.

I used a package of cut up chicken (easier to get it to fit in the Dutch oven, but whole works, too!) and put it into the Dutch oven with cut up onion, the centers and ends of my celery (I just use them to help flavor the broth and the chicken...I add the stalks later so they aren't mushy), a whole head of garlic (plus some extra cloves...love the garlic!), salt, pepper (the McCormick Pepper Medley) and several sprigs of fresh thyme. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to simmer until the chicken is done!

Once the chicken is done, take it out to cool and scoop out the veggies, garlic and thyme stems. I throw out the celery and onions because they are too mushy. I let my broth cool (after it cooled down a little, I actually stuck it in the freezer for a bit) and spoon the fat off of the top.

I squeeze out the cooked garlic and add it back to my broth. Once the chicken is cool, pick it from the bones and add it back to the broth with cut up celery, onions, carrots, and peas....bring to a boil, then add Mahatma Saffron Rice (an old family favorite around here!).

It's important to stir the soup frequently so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom, but once the rice is done, the veggies should be done, too.....that means it's time to eat!

I spoon it into bowls and top with freshly diced chives. It was delicious! The saffron rice just makes this soup.....it adds a pretty color, too!