Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Soup

This past week has been a real treat around here. Have you ever had food poisoning? No? Consider yourself very, very lucky. Now let me point out right away that it was not from anything I made. Thankfully! If it was, I would probably be compelled to throw in the towel where cooking is concerned because what we just went through was awful. Movie theater popcorn was the official culprit. Gross.

So, I certainly won't go into the details but I will tell you that I couldn't eat for three days and while I'm feeling much better today and up for a meal, I figured it was best to ease into the whole food thing. My body was seriously craving nourishment and even though it's 25 degrees outside, I figured soup was my best option.

I've heard that if you boil brown rice in water and drink the actual water that it helps soothe a sensitive stomach but sorry, that ain't happening so my second idea was a chicken, brown rice and vegetable soup. Sounded safe enough. It was exactly what I needed and it was really very tasty. I'll definitely be keeping this recipe in the back of my mind in any event that I don't feel well. But please, no more food poisoning, EVER again. And with that, all I can say is, stay away from the movie theater popcorn kids. It's just not worth it.

Recipe:
1/2 lb chicken breast, diced
1 cup brown rice, rinsed with cold water
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used vegetable stock)
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot, saute onions, carrots and celery in a little oil over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another 10 minutes. Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Add the rice to the boiling mixture and boil the rice until tender, about 20 minutes. When the rice is tender, add the chicken, thyme, sage, turmeric and bay leaf and bring the soup to another boil. At this point you may have to add a little more water to thin the soup out to your desired consistency. Lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover and simmer the soup for 20 minutes to bring the flavors together.