Chicken Vegetable Instant Pot Soup

If you’re like my family, as soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over everyone immediately grabs a Tupperware and begins fitting as much food as possible into their dedicated “leftovers bin”; fighting for that last bite of stuffing or spoonful of sweet potato casserole. This year, I made it easy for the rest of my family, and took myself out of the fight declaring I only wanted to take one thing home, something that absolutely no one else was eyeing: the turkey carcass. Yep, that’s right, I wanted the bones. So much so, that I even traveled back to NYC with them in a Ziploc bag (I know, seriously a psycho move). BUT, the week prior I made turkey stock with all of the turkey bones leftover from my Friendsgiving meal and it truly was better than any bone broth I had ever tasted (fully tooting my own horn) and it was garlic & onion free. This is huge for all of my low FODMAP friends out there. So, instead of elbowing my sister over the white turkey meat, I grabbed my bones and headed back to my apartment where my instant pot resided. As expected, the turkey stock turned out magnificently. So tasty, in fact, that I may begin eating turkey instead of chicken just so I can store the bones for my next batch of broth. Either way, I had vats and vats of turkey stock to put to work; one can only fit so many mason jars in her refrigerator. As I felt a cold coming on, I knew what I was prepping for my weekday lunches: homemade chicken vegetable soup. It was insanely easy, cooked itself (not kidding), and is now officially going to be on my meal rotation all winter. Bless you, turkey, for giving me so much to love over the past two weeks.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

• Chicken or vegetable stock (4 cups) – preferably homemade

• Chicken breast (2) – if using homemade stock, use skinless and boneless breast

• Carrots (3)

• Celery stalks (2)

• Zucchini (1)

• String beans (large handful)

• Brown rice (¾ cup)

• Bay leaves (2)

• Thyme

• Turmeric

• Salt & pepper

Special Equipment: Instant pot (I use this one)Directions:

1. Make the chicken or turkey stock:

   1. Take the carcass of either a chicken or a turkey and place the (cooked) bones in the instant pot

   2. Fill the instant pot with water and any spices you prefer – I like to use rosemary, thyme, bay leaves (2), salt & pepper

   3. Close the top and cook on “soup” mode for 90 minutes

   4. Once done, strain the liquid into a bowl

   5. Toss the bones and spices and allow the bowl of stock to cool before jarring and placing in the fridge

2. Rinse, chop, and prepare the vegetables:

   1. For the celery, zucchini, and carrots I prefer to chop them into thin rings

   2. For the string beans: simply cut off each end and cut into ½ inch pieces

3. Place the chopped vegetables in the instant pot with the 2 chicken breasts and cover with the 4 cups of stock

4. Add in the spices and stir

5. Place the lid on and cook on “soup” mode for 30 minutes

6. While the soup is cooking, make the rice:

   1. Rinse the rice in a strainer

   2. Place the rice on a hot skillet and allow to toast for ~2 minutes

   3. Add in 1 ¾ cups of water, cover, and cook on low heat

   4. Once all of the water is absorbed, remove the pot from the heat but do not take off the lid for an additional 10 minutes (this helps make the rice fluffier)

7. Once complete and able to remove the lid, shred the chicken with tongs (it should fall apart easily) and remove the bay leaves

8. Place the rice at the bottom of the serving bowl, ladle in the soup, and serve hot

 Diet Compliant:

1. Low FODMAP

2. Gluten Free

3. Dairy Free