What a winter!!!

I am so sorry about not posting more this winter. It has been one of the snowiest (is that a word?) years for a long time. And honestly I haven't been doing much cooking. Is that sad or what?

Things are going to start picking up now though. March begins on Monday. We have a group to feed next Friday night the 5th. Ron and I had a planning meeting for it tonight. Tomorrow we will be going to Sam's Club for supplies. For as much as we need to get it will be worth the trip. We need everything from table service (plates and napkins etc.) to fresh fruit and seasonings.

Speaking of seasonings... have I talked about where to get seasonings and spices before? (I'm sure I have!) Well, here goes again... I love Penzeys. There are stores and you can order online. penzeys.com They have just about everything. Fresh!! Try them out once and you will be hooked.

The menu for next Friday night will look like Ron came up with it, mostly because he did. Meatloaf, Chicken Wings, Turkey, Ribs, Pork Loin, Pork Tenderloin, Salmon, Cheesy Potatoes, Beer Cheese Dip, Deviled Eggs, Bacon Cookies, Fruit Salsa. The fruit salsa was my idea. And I'm sure I will throw in a few other tidbits because that menu is a little heavy.

I promise I will 'try' to remember to take pictures and post them. Stop laughing! I said I will try. It should be fun and I will tell you all about it on this blog and my brother blog, smokin4ubbq.blogspot.com . Promise!

Chicken and Rice Soup

I love this stuff. But at our house we do a lot of things separately. Ron won't eat it if it might be good for him. I prefer it if it has some food value. So I put together two soups. You can make whichever one appeals to you more.

Ron's soup is of course easier to make. Not that either of these is difficult. But minute rice does only take a few minutes to cook, so that makes it easier. My soup on the other hand takes a bit more time. (I'm trying to type and eat a bowl of this at the same time. Not an easy task!)

Let's start at the beginning. We went to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon. (We have to go together. If not the one who doesn't go doesn't get anything to eat.) I was looking for wings to do for the Super Bowl. Found those, but also found several packages of hind quarters. If you find several packages and they are priced right why not get them? Cook them up and make something or put the meat in the freezer for another time you are inspired to make something with precooked chicken. Anyway, I came home with lots of chicken at good prices.

Out came the blue granite roaster. I filled that with the hind quarters and popped it in a 300 degree oven for about 4 hours. Take the roaster out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack for about a half hour to cool enough to work with. Leave the lid on. You want to keep the chicken as moist as possible and not letting the steam escape is a good way to help that. After the half hour take the lid off and put the chicken out on a flat pan. Keep the pieces from touching so they cool enough to handle. I wear gloves, that's just me. Tearing the chicken off the bones is a messy job. For some reason I enjoy it. I like to separate the good from the bad, at least when it comes to food.

When all the meat is in a 'keep' pile and all the bones and skin and fat and yuk are in the garbage can, pour the juice from the pan into a container. That container then goes into the fridge. After it has cooled you will have 3 separate layers. The bottom is stuff you may or may not want. (Usually it depends on what I'm making and for whom I am making it.) But it is sediment and you can throw it away if you want. Next is the important layer, the good stuff. On top is the fat. Most of that gets thrown away. (Of course my grandpa used to use it like butter. But I'm not gonna go that far.)

That middle layer is now coagulated into a jelly type stuff. (Chicken Jelly) This is moisture out of the chicken and has lots of flavor. If you remember when we put the chicken pieces into the roaster we put nothing in there with it. Just the chicken, nothing else. So the only thing you could get out of the pan is from the chicken, right? It might seem like some pretty disgusting stuff but it really has a lot of flavor to add to soups and things. Keep it, we will add it later to the soup.


(Finally! I didn't think she was ever gonna get to the actual soup!)See I know what you are thinking!!

OK, the chicken was cooked on Saturday. Now it is Sunday and time to make some Chicken Soup. Vegetable? Noodle? Rice!! I haven't made that for a while. Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. (Can you see Ron turning his nose up at that? Well, he is. And turning around a walking away.) Trouble is Ron will not eat what I call REAL RICE. No Wild Rice is not rice at all. It's just a grass seed. But boy do I love it! Ron eats minute rice. How awful is that? I eat Brown Rice, too. It has both texture and flavor. And it's good for you!

Let's get down to it!

Ron's Chicken Rice Soup


1 15 oz can Chicken Broth
1 Can of Water
4 Tiny Carrots, chopped
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Minute Rice

I put all that in a small Crock Pot (because I have one) or you can put it in a 2 quart sauce pan. Let that cook for an hour in the Crock Pot or 15-20 minutes on the stove.

1/4 Cup Chicken Jelly, more or less
1 Tablespoon Chicken Soup Base
1 tsp Pepper Blend

Add that to the simmering soup. You don't have to use the soup base, but we like it. You will want to add some salt if you don't use the base. Then add how ever much chicken you like or have. Stir and heat through. Serve.


I only make a small amount of soup for Ron. About 2 meals worth is all he can eat of something like this. Even with Minute Rice, God forbid, it might be good for you.

Kristi's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup


2 15 oz cans Chicken Broth
2 cans of Water
12 Tiny Carrots, chopped
4 Green Onions, chopped
3/4 Cup Brown Rice
1/4 Cup Wild Rice

This goes in the Crock pot for a couple of hours on high. Or you can put it in a stock pot on the stove at a simmer for an hour.

1 Cup Chicken Jelly, more or less
2-3 Tablespoons Chicken Soup Base
1 Tablespoon Pepper Blend
Chicken, how ever much you have or want

Add all of this to the pot and allow to cook until the rice tests done or longer. I like the rice to curl up. Then I know it's fully cooked and will reheat well.

That's it! Of course, please play with this basic recipe. Add other veggies if you want. We like our soups thicker, less broth, but you can add more broth or water if you like it looser.

Make a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. On a snowy winter day, what could be better?