Winter cookbook: Easy chicken and rice soup recipe

Such a warming meal for a cold winter's day!

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Find everything you need to make this at your local Meijer.

• 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 lbs), skin removed
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

1. In a large soup pot, combine chicken, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, garlic, pepper, and 1 t salt. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Simmer partly covered, occasionally skimming and discarding fat from surface, about 1 hour.
2. With a slotted spoon or tongs, remove chicken; set aside. Add rice. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, til rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove chicken from bones, and shred into bite-size pieces (discarding any fat or gristle).
4. When rice is cooked, return chicken to broth in pot and heat through.
5. Season generously with salt and serve.