If you’re on Pinterest or Facebook and could use one of the buttons above it would be a great help to me. Thank you!
This Simply Delicious Chicken & Rice Soup is simple to make and absolutely delicious. It’s one of those comforting meals you can throw together in the time it takes to cook your rice using a store bought rotisserie chicken, or you can do it the long way and cook the chicken yourself. The ingredients are few, but they are enough to give it a wonderful flavor that will have ’em coming back for more.
Perfect for a sick day. Or a hard day. Or a long day. Or a lovely day that just needs a light and lovely finish.
But before I give you the recipe, I gotta tell you about what happened between me and my Katy Rose this morning. Get comfy, this won’t take too long but it never hurts get comfy anyway, right?
I love having kids. There is so much fun in raising someone and discovering their personality as they grow. When I was in college taking my education classes, I actually bought into the whole concept they taught about how behavior is learned and children are taught their personalities (I’m trying not to laugh as I type this now). Then I became a mother and saw firsthand how unique each individual is from the moment they are born – before that even!
My daughter, bless her precious sunshiney heart, is just a sparkle in human form. She is creative, artistic, can hear any song and play it instantly on the piano without having ever had lessons, and if you ask her what her favorite color is she will reply “rainbow” without even flinching.
She loves fashion and has fun with her clothes. She dresses in bright colors, playful prints, and even puts together creative new oufits from her closet that I would have never dreamed of. She does all of this while still managing to dress like a young lady.
I am in awe.
I, on the other hand, have the fashion sense of a lazy, colorblind mule.
If you ever see me look nice and put together then you can rest assured that one of three things happened:
- Someone put together the outfit for me.
- I saw the entire thing on a mannequin when I walked into a store.
- I tried really, really hard and texted multiple pictures of the outfit to friends for help and advice.
Seriously. My idea of a great outfit was what I picked up last weekend in Bass Pro Shops.
Oooh Bass Pro Shops! – allow me to digress a moment.
I love Bass Pro Shops. It is my wonderland. I don’t get to go often because we don’t have one near us but whenever we are in Nashville my kids dread me dragging them there because I take ten times longer in that store that I would in an entire mall.
If I could shop nowhere else for the rest of my life but Bass Pro, I could die happy. They have clothes, food, all the good cooking equipment, anything you need to hunt or fish with, and more! A couple of years ago Maryland announced that they were awarding $200 Bass Pro gift cards to anyone who showed proof of killing a snakehead fish and I mentally hatched a plan for funding my entire retirement.
Just this past weekend Mama and I were in Nashville and I said “What do you think about going to Bass Pro while we’re here?” She said “Fine with me” and I lit up! They had men’s flannel shirts on sale 2 for $22 and matching Red Head brand men’s henley’s for the same price.
Meet my winter wardrobe!
Roll up the sleeves on that flannel and toss it on over that henley and all I need now is cold weather and stew!
Katy Rose, well she is different. We are alike in many ways and polar opposites in others. Take fashion for example. She was born knowing how to accessorize and she has been doing the best she can with me for these past 8+ years.
This morning, I decided to dress her in something I thought would be comfortable and fun. This is a half day at their school and the new rage is “spiritwear”. They have a new “spirit wear” store to promote and raise money for various things at school and my son is all over it. He is wearing school shirts every day. Katy Rose, not so much. Why wear spirit wear when she can wear “pretty”?
So today I decided to dress her in a pair of black pants and a spirit wear shirt that used to belong to her brother because the lady at the spirit wear store said all the girls were wearing big shirts and tying them on the sides with colorful ponytail holders.
Sounded fun and comfy to me!
I gave Katy Rose the shirt and had her put it on. She looked at me like I was crazy right off the bat (good on her for recongizing that sooner rather than later) but did as she was told. The gray t-shirt emblazoned with their school name kinda hung on her a bit but then I pulled out a bright red ponytail holder and set about gathering the bottom into a little loop that I pulled together just over her left hip.
I grinned as I looked at it, clearly proud of myself.
“There! Now look at that Katy!”
She looked down as if trying to see what it was that I was seeing instead of what she was seeing.
She flapped her arms a bit as the large sleeves billowed.

My daughter, realizing her mother has zero fashion sense.
(featuring a bad photoshop job of blurring the school name coz the internet is crazy)
“Mama, it’s too big”
“Oh Katy no! that’s the style! the lady in the spirit wear store said all the teenage girls were wearing theirs like this!”
I often set up teenagers as the fashion model I’m trying to follow for her, thinking she will think this is cool. However, I just realized as I type this that setting up today’s teens as something for young children to emulate may not be the best parenting decision I’ve made…
She looked at me and tugged at the gray shirt a bit. “Mama, look at it.”
I tried one more bid to reassure her and said “Oh Katy, it’s the fashion now!”
Her little head raised up and regarded me with a mixture of pity and horror as if she was just now realizing what she had been saddled with as a mother.
“Ma” she said carefully, shaking her head with clear concern for me in her eyes “You think THIS is fashion?”
I burst out laughing. “Take it off Katy, I’ll get you something else.”
We sure are an interesting mix!
Now let me show you how easy it is to make this delicious soup!
You’ll need: Chicken Broth, Rice, Heavy Cream*, Italian Dressing Mix, and a Rotisserie Chicken*
*You can use half and half or even milk in place of the cream but it won’t add the rich buttery flavor that cream does.
*Instructions for making this and cooking the chicken yourself are in the recipe at the bottom.
I am making enough for 6-8 servings because I love leftovers of this. Feel free to half this recipe if you’d like to feed only 4.
I also like to have about a cup of instant potato flakes to add to give my soup a little more body without altering the flavor. This is optional but I wanted to throw it out there that I do that. I love instant potato flakes as soup thickeners! Not so much as instant potatoes though 🙂 For the sake of photos, I added a tablespoon of dried parsley to my soup as well. Entirely optional, totally not needed. But apparently I’m all about disclosing today 🙂
First of all, get your rice cooking. Cook two cups of dry rice, according to packet directions.
If you want to have a heartier soup, make more. If you want a lighter soup, cook less.
While rice is cooking, Pour your broth in a stockpot.
Or whatever pot you grab out of the cabinet first.
Add in your packet of dry Italian Dressing Mix.
Stirry Stirry!
Take your chicken of the bone and shred it. Add to pot.
Stirry Stirry.
Place this over medium heat and bring just to a boil, stirring ever so often.
Then, Reduce heat to a simmer.
Add cream.
If you like, you can also add instant potato flakes at this point. Stir that all up good.
Place about 1/2 cup of cooked rice in a bowl.
We don’t stir the rice directly into the soup because if we did and were planning on having leftovers, the next day that rice would be all bloated up and the soup would look more like a weird rice pudding. So just keep them separate until serving. Cooked rice refrigerates and even freezes well anyway.
Ladle servings of soup over the rice and stir.
My little Chicken bowls came from QVC. Mama and I saw them in the kitchens when we were there and ordered us some 🙂
Serve with warm crusty bread – or whatever you’re in the mood to serve it with.
Enjoy!

Ingredients
- 64 ounces chicken broth
- 1 Rotisserie Chicken
- 2 cups uncooked white rice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 packet Italian Dressing Mix 0.7 ounces
- 1 cup instant potato flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley optional
Instructions
- Pour broth into large stock pot. Stir in Italian Dressing Mix and parsley (if using parsley).
- Debone and shred chicken, add to pot. Place over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer while rice cooks.
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- When rice is done, stir cream and potato flakes into soup.
- Fill each individual bowl with 1/2 cup cooked rice. Top with soup. Stir to combine. Enjoy!
Long way: Cover a whole fryer with water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour, or until chicken is done and broth is rich. Remove chicken. Proceed with step 2. Be sure to add salt to taste if you make your own broth.
This recipe makes 6-8 servings and is easily halved if you prefer 4 servings.
Nutrition
“No one ever injured their eyesight by looking
on the bright side of things.”
~Unknown
Submitted by Jenny. Click here to submit your own motivational or inspiring quotes.
I can so relate to Katy Rose. I love clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry and perfumes. I am retired and reside alone but I still put on all my “stuff” everyday because I do it for me and my sense of self esteem. I also like to be all matched and /or coordinated no matter what fashion gurus now say about it not being necessary. I also follow the rules such as no white shoes before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. I have three grown boys so never got to teach a little girl the essentials!
elaineraye.. I SOO wish I were like you. I love seeing women dressed up and
“matchy, matchy” so to speak. I am retired and am ashamed to say it is almost 2:00 p.m. and I am still in my p.j.s. You are my inspiration and I am gonna try and be more like you from now on!
Loved your comment-but seriously give it a try. I feel better and more motivated. I,too, have occasional “veg out” days , but I tend to feel like I must be sick or grieving if I am still slopping about in my housecoat! I also think someone might drop by and I would be embarrassed. To each his own I guess… I am far less judgmental as I age as I have learned to not sweat the small stuff. Have a great afternoon.
Okay I’m with ya on the hair and makeup! Even when I had just broke my legs, in ICU, I touched up my makeup. And I did my hair and makeup every single day I was in the hospital bed.
My mama told me, when I got married, “Every day when you wake up, do your hair and makeup. And you’ll just feel better!” I haven’t missed a day without in almost 30 years!
I also do it for myself because Mama was right, I just feel better 🙂
Christy you must be doing something right because you don’t even look 30!!
I hadn’t thought of cooking the rice separately — and I can’t figure out why it never dawned on me because I always cook noodles or other pasta separately and then ladle the soup over it.
I guess some people are taught fashion sense, but I think most are just born with it. A while back i overheard my then 2-1/2-year-old granddaughter say to her mother as she was getting her dressed to go out to dinner, “Mommy, I don’t think that is a very cute dress for me.”
Good thought on separating the rice! I’ve done that before with noodles for chicken noodle soup. I hate how bloated they get as leftovers. I don’t know if I would’ve thought to do that with rice!
(And I love the story about Katy – sometimes I wish I had a girl, but mostly I’m thankful I have boys! LOL!)
Christy – As Always, loved the story you told before the recipe! I cannot wait to try this soup recipe. It sounds GREAT.
I’m so dumb! I never though about having the rice separate from the soup. I often end up with a pot full of chicken flavored rice!
What a precious little girl you have. My little girl is now 30! Time flies, but I now have three grandchildren!
Sounds to me like you’re smart enough to make chicken and rice soup for your family so you are smart indeed! This here is just a little tip you hadn’t thought of yet, but I bet you know oodles of tips I haven’t thought of yet, too!
Three grandchildren! Goodness, isn’t it crazy to think of ourselves as adults, much less mothers and grandmothers! lol
Christy, ALWAYS love to read your stories … they REALLY brighten my day and make me laugh!! Was so happy to read your post this morning — no brace or boot!! YEAH!!!! This soup is perfect for our dinner tonight as I severely rolled my ankle this morning while pruining a tree. I guess God decided that I need to take today off and sit in the recliner with my feet up. A great day to catch up on emails, read a book and sip some sweet tea! Blessings ….
Oh Susan thank you so much! You just put the biggest smile on my face! I just appreciate you being here and sticking with me through my stories 🙂 I’m so sorry to hear about your ankle but I love your attitude! I think God did want you to take a break today and I’m sure you deserve it!
Feel better soon!
Gratefully,
Christy
I bought these chicken bowls, thanks for the idea. Was going to make indidual servings of tuna noodle but this looks so much better.
Oh my goodness, aren’t they the cutest things???
Where did you find the bowls? Thanks!
You can get these cute bowls along with piggy ones at Qvc.com. They are Temptations brand.