Back to Work and a Recipe

My nine wonderful work-days on vacation have come to an end. While I have enjoyed the time off, I have missed my friends at work and I'm excited to see them. I'm working tomorrow while Mom and Dad take care of a few things in Nashville then we'll all go home for the weekend. My car is in Florence, so I definitely want to go get it!!

While we were at the condo I made chicken and rice soup and it turned out pretty well. I didn't use any measurements, but since Dad liked it to much, I wanted to try to write down a recipe. I was trying to make something like the soup served at Demo's. I made it thicker and creamier than their soup which I remember as being thinner and "brothier".

These are guesses of measurements, but it's the best I can do.

3/4 stick butter
1 cup flour
3 cups rice
2 bottles Swanson's chicken stock
4 cups milk
1 rotisserie chicken, diced
3 packages Italian dressing mix
2 tbs. cayenne pepper
2 tbs. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt

I started off making a roux to thicken the liquids in the soup. After that finished, I added about half of the milk and allowed that to thicken. Then I added one bottle of stock and continued to heat until almost boiling. I used a Crock-Pot for this soup (limited pots and pans at the condo), so I pre-heated it and then added the thickened liquid and then the rice to the pot. I then added the skinless, diced chicken and the spices. I then added the remaining stock and enough milk to get the soup to the right consistency. This cooked on high for about two hours and then was ready to serve.

My Dad loved the soup (I added the extra pepper for him--he likes spicy food). He said he thought he liked it better than my homemade pizza. He loves the pizza so much that we had that on Christmas Day since it was just for the three of us. To make a long story short, if it's his favorite meal, that's saying something since he will happily eat anything I make and has suggested I open a restaurant! :)