Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Courtesy of my mom! Since she loves Bread Co.'s chicken and rice soup she wanted to make her own and found this recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded (boneless skinless chicken breasts)
• 1 package Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice with seasoning packet (I like Herb Roasted chicken flavor)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

Inl arge pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling then stir in rice reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine slat, pepper, and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

Stir in cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10-15 minutes.

Chicken Parm Pasta Toss

One of my favorites from Rachael Ray. It's so easy too! Just make sure you have your chicken cut up before you start. I sometimes half or quarter the recipe if I'm the only one eating it and depending on how much of leftovers you'd like to have. I usually leave out the arugula though (and that's because I can't ever find it at my grocery store.)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound whole wheat penne pasta

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

1 large red onion, chopped

2 pints grape tomatoes

2 cups fresh basil, chopped

3 cups arugula or baby arugula, roughly chopped

1 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Serves 4

PREPARATION

Fill a large pasta pot with water and place it over high heat. Once the water comes up to a boil, salt it and drop in the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente, according to the package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve a mugful of starchy cooking water, then drain and reserve.

While the water is coming up to a boil, place a large skillet over high heat with three turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3 tablespoons. Season the chicken pieces with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, then add it to the pre-heated skillet. Cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.

Once the chicken is golden brown, add the garlic and onion to the pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cover the pan with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes burst open and begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes (if they haven’t started to burst open by that time, mash them lightly with a potato masher or wooden spoon). Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Add the drained pasta and reserved starchy cooking water (about 1 cup) to the skillet with the chicken and tomatoes, and toss over the heat until combined, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil, arugula and cheese. Serve.