Occasionally, I will be sharing some food posts here. After all, food is probably my favorite thing. With my recent dietary change to gluten-free, I sometimes have a hard time finding things I like to eat that are healthy and easy. I know there are a lot of websites and information out there, and I’ve seen my fair share of them. However, I can’t count the number of times they have something special and unique that I can’t find anywhere. Talk about frustrating. My plan is to include easy things to make, for one person, without using something too “exotic,” for lack of a better word. If it’s something out of the ordinary, I’ll be sure to give a heads up. Anyway, on with the show!
A couple weeks ago, my mom very suddenly came down with strep throat. Let me give you a little background here – my mom is susceptible to ear/sinus infections, and has dealt with a couple this year already, including strep throat once earlier this year. When I was younger, I had strep throat every year around the same time, three years in a row – so when she said she had strep, I was worried I was going to get sick too. Thank goodness, I did not. I helped my mom with an essential oil protocol to help her feel better, while also using some on myself to help protect me from getting sick too!
My mom is a pretty strong woman, but strep throat is no joke, and she was down for the count. She described the way she was feeling “as if she had been run over by a bus, and swallowing was so painful, she almost don’t want to do it ever again.” So of course, I offered to make dinner! It was mostly dinner for me anyway, since she could hardly swallow.
Obviously, to most, the choice is chicken noodle soup. However, the noodles we had on hand are not gluten-free. So instead, I made chicken and rice soup! Almost exactly the same!
I wanted to talk about this dinner in particular because it was probably the first time I cooked something without looking at a recipe AT ALL. Just threw things together in a pot, let it cook, and it tasted delicious. I was so proud of myself for making something that tasted awesome, helped my mom to feel better, and made me feel like I could really cook.
Yeah yeah yeah, chicken and rice soup is really easy. But hey, baby steps!
Anyways, here’s the recipe(ish)!
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Oregano / Thyme / Bay leaf (1) to taste, I think I put in maybe a teaspoon of oregano and half a teaspoon of thyme, and 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 3-4 celery stalks, sliced about ½ inch thick
- 3-4 carrots, sliced about ½ inch thick
- 3 small chicken breasts (not sure much that would be in weight – we have the individually wrapped chicken breasts, because they’re easier when cooking for one!)
- 1 cup rice
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water (I ended up adding some more broth and water, as that was all my mom could really swallow, and after a couple of bowls of just broth, the rest of the soup wasn’t really soup!)
- Fill a small saucepot with water, and bring to a boil. Boil chicken breasts for probably about 9-10 minutes, until cooked through. Once the chicken is finished, remove from the water, and let cool. Shred chicken using two forks.
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-low heat, add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Add spices.
- Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook for a couple minutes until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add broth and water to the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Add rice, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice has cooked through. Add chicken, and serve!
So easy. And so delicious. Sorry I don’t have any photos! It was a last minute idea to add this as a post here, and the soup was all gone by the time I decided to post about it!
I’m sure people out there are talented cooks – so tell me, what can you cook from scratch without a recipe?
journeytoloving.me 