Easy Chicken Soup Risotto

What started out as The Magnolia Table chicken soup turned into a delicious risotto. This meal is easy to throw together if you have the ingredients on hand. Plus, the couscous is perfect for little kids because it tastes like chicken soup, but it’s not soupy and therefore much easier to eat.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• salt and black pepper

• 1 onion (any kind), diced

• 2 stalks of celery, diced

• 2 carrots, sliced

• 1 package of mushrooms, sliced (I use cremini, but use whatever you prefer)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 cups of chicken broth

• 2 cups Israeli couscous (also called pearl couscous)

• 2-3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

• 1½  cups whole milk

• ½ cup of heavy cream

How to Make It:

1. Sauté onion, celery, and carrots together in butter and olive oil over medium heat until soft (about 5 minutes)

2. Season vegetables with black pepper and salt.

3. Add mushrooms until brown. The pan may be dry because mushrooms soak up oil, so just add a little more olive oil if needed.

4. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.

5. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

6. While boiling, add couscous.

7. In 7-8 minutes, taste the couscous to make sure it is not crunchy.

8. Once soft, add shredded chicken, milk and cream and simmer. (Don’t let it boil or it’ll separate and freak you out.)

9. Turn stove to the lowest setting, add a lid and let it sit on low heat for about 30 minutes.

Pro tip: You can get two of these ingredients from Costco -- the Better than Boullion chicken base and their rotisserie chicken.