Chicken And Rice Soup

Ingredients :

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ medium yellow onion diced
• ½ cup carrot peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour use gluten free AP flour to make it GF
• 6 cups chicken stock/broth
• 1 pound chicken breasts skinless and boneless
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup uncooked long grain rice
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley optional

Instructions :

1. In a dutch oven, over medium high heat. Heat olive oil and melt the butter.
2. Add onion, carrot and celery, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add flour, stir and cook for 1 minute.
5. Pour chicken stock, add the chicken breasts, bay leaf, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
7. Add the rice and cook uncovered while stirring regularly for 15 minutes (you don’t want the rice to stick to the bottom of the pot).
8. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf, take the chicken out (and make sure it reaches 165°F/74°C) and shred it then return it.
9. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings to your preference. If using fresh parsley, stir it in. For freshness, you can stir in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.