Homemade Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

I went looking for a creamy soup recipe and had a hard time finding what I wanted. When I finally did find the type of soup I was looking for it was made with a large amount of expensive and processed foods. I used the recipe as a very loose guide and made my own recipe. I decided share it here, because it turned out great and there are those times when you want a heartier comfort soup and this is it.

I used a chicken carcass to make this, as it is my way of getting two meals from one chicken, but you could also use diced chicken from chicken breasts and chicken soup stock if you do not have a whole chicken.

This soup takes a bit of time to make but it is mostly cook time and only a bit of prep so it is great for rainy day at home. I served it with homemade biscuits from a recipe I got here, it was the perfect comfort meal.

Homemade Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken carcass with meat
8 cups of water
2-3 carrots sliced or diced
2-3 ribs of celery sliced
1 Onion diced
2 Chicken Bouillon cubes (optional)
1/2 cup of 20 minute rice ( I prefer a brown rice but you can use any kind you want)
3 tblsp butter
3tblsp flour
3 cups of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp no salt seasoning mix

1) Place chicken carcass in a large soup pot, 6 quart minimum and cover with water, approximately 8 cups. (you can also add extra carrots, celery, and onion to enhance the taste of your soup stock if desire. These vegetables will be discarded before the soup is made)

2) Bring carcass to boil and let cook for approximately 2 hours or until chicken starts to fall off the bone and a thick rich stock forms. Add water as necessary.

3) Strain chicken out of stock and set chicken aside. Add rice, carrots, celery, onion and seasonings and bring back to a boil. Turn down to medium low and let simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetable are all fork tender and rice is fully cooked.

4) In a second pot melt butter on medium heat and add flour to it to make roux. Let cook for one minute stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Add one cup of the milk and whisk until the sauce is smooth.

5) Add the remaining 2 cups of milk to the broth and vegetables and then add the roux stirring until the soup is smooth.

6) Dice chicken and add back to the pot.

7) Turn soup up to medium and cook until heated through.