Southern Style Chicken and Rice

Oh man! Who doesn't love a good homemade chicken and rice dish? This is a wonderful basic chicken stock recipe with rice added in to make it a meal. It is thick, hearty and dirt cheap to make. And let me just add, it is so good!
I made this last night for dinner because it was cold and cloudy outside - the perfect weather for this dish. When my husband came home from work, his eyes lit up as he inhaled the aromas. Not only is the dish awesome and easy, it also makes the entire house smell good for the night. Even though there are only three of us in the house, one of which is still too young for solid food, I make 8 to 10 servings at a time. It is less expensive, we can have it two nights in a row, and it freezes well.

Prep time: 15 minutes to start, 20 minutes in the middle.
Cook time: 2 hours, but you can walk away from it for most of the cooking time.
Cost: $0.70 to $0.90 per serving

1 whole frying chicken (I use the fryer because it is a little smaller and usually less per pound)
3 to 4 carrots, chopped
1 turnip, chopped (yeah, I know. But, it is a great flavor to add to most southern style chicken dishes. It is still pretty darn good without it in there.)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups of water
salt and pepper
2 cups of rice
parsley (optional)

In a large stock pot, place the whole chicken (don't forget to remove the innards) with the carrots, turnip, celery, onion and garlic around it. Add enough water to cover the chicken, which is usually about 5 cups. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender enough to fall from the bones. Remove from the heat.
Remove the chicken and allow it cool until you can handle it. If it is cold outside, I put in a big bowl, cover it with a splatter screen so the heat can still get out but nothing can get in, and leave it outside on a table.  While the chicken is cooling, I start skimming some of the fat off the top of the broth. Then, debone the chicken. By the time the chicken is off the bone, you can get most of the fat from the broth. I do leave some, but not too much. Break the chicken up with you hands to bit sized bits and drop it back in the pot. Some people strain the broth and chop the veggies up smaller, but I am admittedly lazy and don't do that. Add salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that you are adding rice to it. Bring to a boil and add the rice. Reduce to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. It should be only slightly soupy when it is finished.
Oh man... this is making me hungry again. Good thing I still have this in my fridge.

Happy Eating!