Chicken and Rice Soup

This is a creamy, satisfying soup that's so comforting on a chilly day.  I've seen different recipes over the years and this is a combination of what I could remember and also leans quite a bit on the chicken and dumplings idea to get it started.  Connor likes it so much that he asked for it to go in "the book".  That's a win!

Saute for 5 minutes on medium low:

One diced onion

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

Then add:

3 cans low sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons ranch dressing mix (1 packet)
3 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken

1 cup of uncooked rice (I don’t use instant because it doesn’t hold together as well as the original because I like the longer cooking time for the flavors to come together versus just the five minutes)

Bring this all to a boil and then lower the heat (no lid) and simmer for 20 minutes (that’s how long this rice simmers… different rice might be a little different.)  

Then cover and set aside for 5 more minutes

Cut up 12 oz veltetta into chunks, stir in and cover for a few more mins until melted.  I didn’t turn the heat back on but let it sit covered for about 10 minutes while helping Connor with homework and it was perfect.  If we were pushed for time, it would be super-fast to turn on the heat to medium and keep stirring for a couple minutes.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day.