Chicken, Ranch and Rice Soup

Ahh...Soup...

What sounds better when you spend a chilly fall day at home watching football (and the ACM awards from last week on my DVR)?  The weather is just perfect for a warm bowl of soup, and one that has a little kick to it at that! 

I had a few guinea pigs at my house this afternoon to test it with me and they enjoyed it as much as I did.  This isn't an original recipe, but one that I modified just a bit.  I would really like to make this in the crockpot next time.  The crockpot just makes such good shredded chicken, which is what I like in my soups.  But until next time, here is the stove top version, which was pretty awesome anyway.  This recipe yields about 8 servings at 4 WW Pts+ each.  Enjoy!



Chicken, Ranch and Rice Soup

You will need:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2  medium onion, finely chopped (can use more if you want a bigger kick)
• 2 carrots, peeled and slices
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp garlic powder (try 3 tbsp fresh minced garlic)
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 cup instant rice
• 4 cans chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Ranch Dressing seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onions, carrots and celery for 10 minutes until soft.  Stir in garlic powder or if fresh garlic, cook for another minute or two.  Stir in chicken breast and rice. 

 

Pour chicken broth over mixture and add Ranch seasoning, salt, pepper and hot sauce (if using).  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

I found the original recipe here.  This recipe adds Dijon mustard and uses more onion than I did, but I felt like half of an onion was enough after tasting the soup.  Hope you like it!

~ Candace