Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day: Quick & Easy Chicken & Rice Soup

Welcome back to another edition of Secret Recipe Club - Reveal Day! I am happy that we're back in action after taking the month of December off for the Holidays! December passed by WAY too quickly, in my opinion, and I felt so behind the whole month. I did get my shopping done (99% of it thanks to online shopping), I did get some baking done too, but I just felt rushed and tired the whole time. I had a good (3 month old) reason, but still it was a bummer to me because I really like to savor the month of December, soak up all the lights, the green and red, the shopping, the wrapping, the cooking and baking, celebrating with friends and family. I love everything about the Christmas season and being exhausted, working full time, and caring for a little one pushed Christmas to the back burner this time. Hopefully next year I'll be able to enjoy it a little more again - Lindsey will be 15 months by then and fingers and toes crossed she'll be sleeping better than she does now! Our little stinker is a total sweetheart, and a very good natured baby, but Lord Almighty she does not like to sleep through the night. We're working on getting into a better, consistent, evening routine and trying to put her down whether she's actually asleep or not to help settle her down. We'll figure it out eventually!

So, for this month's assignment I was lucky enough to get to visit and peruse Jaime's blog Mom's Test Kitchen - just reading her "About Mom" page had me smiling over and over. She writes so that you imagine you can hear her standing next to you and talking to you about whatever it is that particular post is about. Funny, engaging, down to earth, and easy to relate to and connect with!

There are TONS of fantastic recipes to choose from - here are a few I opened up and drooled over before tucking away to try soon! Cream Cheese Swirled Red Velvet Cookies,  Quick and Easy Chicken and Rice Soup, Simple Chicken Tortilla Casserole, Cinnamon Crisp Chips, and Smurf Bars!!

After much deliberation, I went ahead and settled on the chicken soup - it looked like good, easy comfort food I would enjoy in this cool weather and it would be perfect for taking to work for lunch!

This is a terrific recipe - a great way to use up some leftover rice and/or chicken if you have some in your refrigerator and it comes together quickly and easily. I modified the original recipe to use what I had on hand.

I used a bag of stew vegetables and some frozen peas as well, and omitted the tomatoes called for in the original recipe. I also cooked my rice with some bouillon for a little extra flavor. Delicious!!

Quick and Easy Chicken and Rice Soup modified from Mom's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken shredded or diced

1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup cooked rice

4 cups chicken broth

1 bag (12 ounces) mixed vegetables (onion, celery, carrots, etc.)

1 cup frozen peas

salt to taste 

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients; simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.