Lemony Chicken-Rice Soup

Start with the carcass of a roasted chicken that still has some meat left on it. Remove the meat and set aside. Place the bones and skin from the chicken into a small pot, breaking them up a little. Cover with water, bring to a boil then simmer 30-60 minutes. Remove the bones, strain the chicken broth into another pan. Discard all skin and bones. Wash the strainer with very hot water, then line it with several layers of cheese cloth and strain one last time into a small pan. Cover and place pan in the freezer for an hour or two until the broth chills and the fat surfaces. Skim the fat off, heat and set aside. While the broth is chilling combine rice and the following finely chopped vegetables in another pot with 2T butter:

2/3c long grain (20 minute) rice

5 lg. Garlic cloves

2 med. onions

Saute' rice, garlic and onions for 10-15 minutes. Add the following sliced-chopped vegetables, some water and 2T dry chicken broth powder then simmer, covered, another 20-30 minutes.

½ sweet pepper

2 stalks celery

2 lg. carrots

1 lg. Bunch of broccoli –

use peeled stems and florets

1 lemon – zest (save the juice)

At the very end add the remaining ingredients to the pot.

1c snipped parsley

chicken meat

lemon juice

chicken broth with fat skimmed off

Simmer a few more minutes to heat all ingredients. Serve now or chill for later. This makes a great soup for someone who's fighting a cold or the flu. Or just great comfort food to ward off the chill of an early fall day. . .Lin