Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

When I was in Minnesota over Columbus Day weekend my uncle gave me a huge bag of onions from his garden. Originally I thought it would take us months to go through that many onions. I guess I never realized how many onions I cook with. I used the last onion from that bag in this soup. Thanks for the tasty onions Uncle Clownsuit!

Last week I made chicken stock from the carcass of the peach roaster chicken. This was the first soup made from that stock. I was right in guessing that this was a sweeter than normal stock. I think it worked well with the sweetness of the carrots and corn. This soup also used up the leftovers from the chicken as well.

I made a few changes to the original recipe from For the Love of Cooking. First, I increased the stock, chicken and veggies because I wanted a heartier thicker soup. Second, I omitted the chicken bouillon. Bouillion is always too salty for my liking. I figured the stock would be flavorful enough without it. The next time I make this soup I think I will increase the rice to 3/4 c as well.

This will definitely be going in the soup recipe rotation. Blockette, who has only cared for Cinderella Wedding Soup in the past, cleaned her bowl.

Here's the recipe with my changes:

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup adapted from For the Love of Cooking
1 T olive oil
1 small sweet onion or half a large onion
4 mutant carrots, half or quarter moon slices (or 7 supermodel skinny carrots, cut into coins)
4 stalks of celery, including celery leaves, diced fine
3 cloves of garlic, minced
6 c chicken stock
1/2 t basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
2 c cooked chicken breast, diced
1/2 c jasmine rice, uncooked
1 heaping cup of frozen corn, thawed
2 T corn starch
1 12 oz can fat free evaporated milk

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add veggies and cook until they are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook another minute. Add stock, spices, chicken, and rice. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. If soup is not boiling, increase the heat. In a small bowl mix cornstarch and a small amount of the milk until the lumps disappear. Gradually add in the remaining milk. Add milk to boiling soup. Lower heat to simmer. Add corn and stir. Let the soup simmer for a few minutes to heat through. The soup will thicken as it sits. (Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving!)