Chicken and Barley Boiled Dinner

Cleaning the chicken and making the broth are a lot of work. I do it the night before I make the soup. But the soup is so hearty and delicious you do not mind the work. The big chunks of chicken taste so good in the soup.

2 broiler/fryer chicken
( 3 pounds each, cut up and skinned)
2 Tbs cooking oil
2 quarts chicken broth
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
8 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2-1/2 cups frozen cut green beans
2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
fresh parsley, chopped

In a 8-quart kettle or Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil.
Remove chicken and set aside. Drain.
In the same kettle, combine the broth, rice, barley, onion, bay leaves, basil, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
Return chicken to pan; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Stir in the carrots, beans and celery.
Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the chicken and grains are tender.
Add parsley. Remove bay leaves before serving

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

NOTE: Clean and remove the skin and some of the breast bones. Cut up the chicken into thighs, legs, breasts and wings. Buy chicken already cut up and save time. Put the bones in water and cook them with an onion, carrot, celery, and parsley for the chicken broth. By refrigerating the broth you can remove the fat that forms at the top. This way you have good chicken broth which is fat-free. The skin and scraps are great for the dog or cat in your house.
Recipe could easily be cut in half.

JACQUELINE'S COOKBOOK