Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

It is definitely soup season over here! Georgia has had some pretty extreme (for us) winter weather two weekends in a row. We had ice 2 weekends ago, and then snow this past weekend! We adventured out a little bit in the Subaru, and made it home safely. I just wanted to see a little bit of the snow before it all melted back off! I love going adventuring with Justin, and the Subaru handled the roads beautifully. Not that we went anywhere too crazy, but we definitely saw plenty of sliding, cars in the median or ditches, etc. I was glad when we made it home safe and sound. 

 

 

My big girl just got her first "real" salon haircut! 

Cold weather definitely calls for warm cozy meals - and putting soup in the crockpot in the morning and letting it simmer away making dinner so quick and easy when it's time to serve is definitely a weekend favorite for me. Lindsey even enjoyed this one! 

This soup was such a wonderful mix of tender chicken and veggies with a well seasoned broth. There are lots of seasonings I used in this one - but you can edit it down or up, however you prefer. I have such an extensive collection of seasonings it's nice to pull out a few more than just the salt, pepper, and garlic powder which I feel like are the mandatory additions to pretty much everything I make! 

Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium white onion, diced

1 - 2 large carrots, peeled and diced

3 - 4 ribs celery, diced

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 teaspoon mushroom powder (optional)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable bouillon

½ teaspoon each: dried parsley, oregano, thyme, mustard powder

5 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders, diced

2 ¼ cups cooked rice

Directions

1. Melt butter in the crock pot over high heat; add in the veggies and stir to coat. Add in all seasonings, broth, soy sauce, hot sauce, and chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low 6 - 8 hours. 
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Add the rice into the soup if you'd like it to absorb some of the liquid during the last hour, or scoop rice into bowls, and serve soup over the top. 

** Optional. If you want to thicken up the soup a little bit, whisk 2 -3 TBS of flour into cold water to form a loose paste then blend about 1/4 cup of hot liquid from the pot into the paste. Once smooth, whisk into the crockpot and turn the heat up to high and allow to come to a simmer for about 30-minutes before serving. 

Recipe adapted from The Cozy Cook