EASY AND QUICK CHICKEN RICE SOUP

Hearty and delicious chicken and rice soup! Perfect with a loaf of crusty bread!

There are a few short-cuts that make this soup so quick and easy . The first is using rotisserie chicken. We love rotisserie chicken because it's already seasoned and so flavorful plus the chicken is already cooked making this soup whip up even quicker. That said, if you don't mind spending a little extra time you can cook your own chicken for this soup and then shred it and add it in.

The second short-cut is a packet of seasoned rice. This serves two purposes ? first, the rice can cook in the soup and second, there are a ton of extra seasoning which eliminates measuring out a whole bunch of seasonings.

The last short-cut that is totally optional is buying some pre-cut veggies. Most grocery stores sell mirepoix which is pre-chopped veggies (celery, onion, and carrots). If you grab that, you'll only need to chop up the red pepper.

If you use all these short-cuts the soup can absolutely be ready in 20 minutes or less. And if you don't use all the short-cuts, you can still have a soup ready pretty quickly!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ of 1 yellow onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 2 large stalks celery, finely diced
• 2 (14.5 ounces EACH) reduced-sodium chicken stock (or chicken broth) (stock has a richer flavor)
• 1 package Knorr Rice Sides - Chicken Flavor Broccoli
• 1 and ½ cups water
• 2 cups prepared rotisserie chicken, chopped or shredded
• Salt and freshly cracked pepper
• Optional: fresh parsley, fresh thyme, Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped pepper, diced onion, diced carrot, diced celery, and thyme. Stir occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add broth or stock, water, and the package of rice sides. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook covered 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Meanwhile, shred or chop the rotisserie chicken.
4. Stir in chicken and serve immediately. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with fresh parsley and fresh thyme if desired. Add some parmesan cheese to each bowl if desired.
5. Best enjoyed the same day it is made or the rice tends to bloat.

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