Tough Times Food: Chicken & Rice Soup

When tough times hit soup has always been one of the basic serving methods that can just make your supplies go further. This falls into a possible stone soup that you can modify the recipe based on what you have on had. You can also adjust the seasoning based off what you like or what you have on hand.

Ingredients 

1 bag brown rice

2 cartons chicken stock

1 pouch/can precooked chicken

1 can black beans

1 can carrots

Seasoning 

garlic powder

garlic diced (from jar)

chili powder

ground ginger

ground paprika

ground turmeric

ground cumin

Brown bag rice normally needs to simmer for about 40 minutes. I simmered it in the chicken stock and about 16oz of extra water. You may also need to add extra water during cooking depending on how liquidly you wat it. I also added the seasoning during this time so that the flavors could have time to blend.

(Side Note: I used unsalted chicken stock due to family health issues, so you can be flexible to meet any health needs. It is possible to cook entirely without added salt. You can also use instant rice if you have it and you want the food to cook quicker.)

Once rice is mostly cooked add the chicken, black beans, and carrots. I would recommend and extra 10-15 minutes to let all the flavors blend. Also, canned/pouched chicken is still very pink even though it is supposed to be fully cooked. I would always recommend extra cooking time for this type of chicken. It will turn white with the extra cooking like normal cooked chicken. 

When you serve you can always include bread, crackers, or even cheese if you have it.