Chicken Soup with Lentils and Brown Rice

The best way to make this soup or any soup for that matter, in our opinion, is to make your own stock. We start by simmering some chicken necks and backs in water with a carrot, celery rib, and a small onion. Add salt and pepper to taste and some herbs such as garlic, parsley and thyme. Simmer for a couple hours and then strain the broth to remove the solids. We started to cook the rice and lentils seperately from the stock so that we could control the "doneness". When they were almost done, we put them into the stock along with a diced onion, carrot and celery and some diced chicken. Continue to simmer until the lentils are just tender. This is a fairly easy soup especially if you start with prepared stock.