Quick and Simple Chicken Rice Vegetable Soup

Sauté the rice in the olive oil in a 3 quart pot until it snaps and begins to brown, then add the chopped vegetables.

2/3c 20 minute rice

2T EVOO

    1 sm. yellow onion

    3 lg. garlic cloves

    1 big carrot

    5 or 6 big Brussel's sprouts

    10 asparagus spears

2-3 quarts vegetable-chicken bone broth

6oz. roasted chicken cut in bite size pieces

Stir everything around a bit. When it begins to stick to the pot, add bone broth, a little at a time. Let everything simmer about 20 minutes.

Check the flavors. I added 2T (reduced sodium) chicken Better Than Bouillon. Stir in the chicken. Turn off the heat and leave it on the burner another 10 minutes to bring out all the flavors.

Make a pot of this for someone fighting a cold or the flu. It's also a good recovery soup for after having a stomach-intestinal bug, or anytime you want a nice, comforting pot of soup. . .Lin

Warm Spice Pecan-Raisin Rice Pudding

¾ c long grain white rice

1½ c water

3T butter

⅔ c raisins

¾ c chopped pecans

1t pumpkin pie spice

2 lg. eggs

1t pure vanilla

⅓ c coconut sugar

½ c coconut-almond creamer

Rinse the rice, then simmer with the water in a 2 qt. pot.  When 5 minutes remain in cooking time, add the next group of ingredients, stir, turn off heat, cover and let stand while whisking the next ingredients together in a medium glass bowl.  Add these ingredients to the rice pot.

Gently combine everything, then bake, at 350° for 20 minutes, in a buttered 8" x 8" glass pan, or one of a similar size.   At this point, if it seems too liquid, bake another 10 minutes.  When the liquid has absorbed and it's the consistency of heavy pudding, turn heat off and let it stay in the oven, with the door cracked open, another 10 minutes.  Serve warm with a sprinkle of coarse sugar, for breakfast or dessert. . .Lin