I've fixed this 3 times and Johnny loves it.
1. Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs - of course you can use any part of the chicken but I think dark meat tastes better and it's easier if you don't have to strain the bones and skin out of the soup PLUS the skin adds a lot of fat.
1/4 diced sweet onion - we aren't onion fans so I don't use much but your amount is up to you
3 large, diced carrots and tops - I like carrots so I use a lot - again you make the decision
2 stalks celery
either 1 large potato diced or 1 parsnip diced - I haven't used both in the same soup but you could and truly I just used 1/4 of the parsnip because the flavor is so strong
5 -6 sprigs of fresh parsley - chopped
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
2 whole black pepper corns
chicken flavored bouillon cubes to taste (I used 4 tonight and 5 the last time - I think it has to do with how long you cook it and the amount of water used)
1 cup cooked rice - I rinse my rice before cooking it which, of course, removes the stuff it's fortified with but it makes the rice so light that it doesn't weigh down the soup
salt to taste - with the bouillon we don't use salt
These ingredients are what I use but you can put more or less of anything and more than 1 potato or more than 1 parsnip.
I use an 8 quart stock pot
2. Place chicken in bottom of cold pot
3. Add ONLY enough water to cover chicken
4. Bring to boil then cover and simmer for 1 hour adding water JUST to keep chicken covered
5. After 1 hour - Add all ingredients EXCEPT bouillon and rice
6. Again bring to boil then cover and simmer for 1 hour adding water JUST to keep chicken covered
7. After 1 hour add 2 bullion cubes and turn to low boil - lid on
8. Cook until chicken starts falling apart - continue adding water to keep chicken covered
9. When chicken is cooked to falling apart point, add enough water to make it soup like (about 4 cups)
10. Continue low boil
11. Add another bouillon cube
12. After it's cooked a while (I didn't time it) do a taste test and add more bullion if needed
13. When you have the taste you want, turn to simmer and cook your rice per package instructions (I use long cook rice) then add the rice to the soup.
I had no idea there were so many steps. It looks complicated when I write it out but it's not. I just cook the soup till the chicken falls apart and add bullion until it tastes good. I've never left out the rice because Johnny loves rice but I think it would be lighter, like maybe for an appetizer, without it. With the rice the soup is a meal. Hope it makes sense because it tastes so good. Johnny will even eat it the next night.