Glad to hear I'm not the only one on "yuck patrol." I am always looking for suspicious stuff in my food. If I don't recognize it or don't like its looks, it gets pushed to the side. I'm always amazed at people who really eat every single thing on their plate. Here 's the recipe. I found it on Allrecipes. Really pretty simple and straightforward, but the lemon juice and wine add a nice taste. Creamy Chicken Rice Soup INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup chopped carrot 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 (14.5 ounce) cans reduced sodium chicken broth 2 cups cooked long-grain rice 1 cup cubed cooked chicken 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1 cup 2% milk 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon white wine DIRECTIONS: 1. In a large saucepan, saute the carrot, onion and celery in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Add the rice, chicken, salt, pepper and garlic powder; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the milk, lemon juice and wine if desired. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until heated through.

Grainlady - thank you. That link is wonderful. Just full of good guidelines. Nancy - that's good to know about running cold water through the chicken. With fish, I put it in a bowl of ice water - and that defrosts it within a couple of hours, but I hadn't thought of a way to apply water to chicken - thanks. Sometimes I defrost in the microwave if I'm going to use it right away - like steaks or chicken breasts. But I didn't think I should do that with a whole chicken. Also, sometimes with chicken breasts, I plan to marinate overnight - in which case I think it's a no-no to defrost in the microwave (which would partially cook it) and then marinate. Are their some soups you wouldn't microwave? The one I have is potato-fennel - and I thought I recalled something about the texture being effected by either freezing or microwaving. Thanks. Lynn. Lynn.

i can't believe i chopped off the original poster's name and i apologize for that--i think it belongs to "dances in garden". if not, please step forward and correct me! but this was a good dish that was kind of fun to prepare and eat: Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil Coarse salt and coarse black pepper 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional 1 orange, zested 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped 3 scallions, chopped 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over. I was trying to replicate my favorite lettuce wraps from PF Chang's, so I changed a few things. I used ground turkey instead of chicken tenders, skipped the orange, added more complexity to the sauce, and had cilantro, basil and lime wedges on the plate for people to add to the wraps. This is what I added to the hoisin sauce: 5 tsp sweet chili sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 TBSP sherry, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, 3 TBSP oyster sauce, and juice from half a lime. I think this made them much tastier. They were unbelievably delicious!! A keeper for company. i really enjoyed this but my husband didn't so i've only made it once. i certainly would be happy to make it for lunch with the girlfriends though! Braised Greek Chicken and Artichokes 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 chicken breast halves with skin and bones 2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained 2 tablespoons marinade reserved 3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sautchicken until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons reserved marinade, broth, lemon juice, peel, and crushed pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover; stir in artichokes and 2 tablespoons oregano. Simmer until liquid is slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon oregano. Season with salt and pepper; serve. Makes 4 servings. Bon Appétit December 2001 and we both liked this one really well: ORANGE HONEY-BAKED CHICKEN -- Daisy 1 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind 1/2 teaspoon ginger 4 boned chicken breast fillets (about 500g) 2 tablespoons orange marmalade (1/8 tsp red pepper flakes) (2 T peanut butter added into the sauce to be reduced) Preheat oven to 200C. In baking dish, mix together orange juice, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons honey, orange peel and ginger. Add chicken pieces, turning to coat all sides. If time permits, let chicken marinate for 10 minutes. Bake, uncovered, for 8 minutes, baste with pan juices. Bake an additional 8 minutes, baste again. Glaze chicken with a mixture of marmalade and remaining 1 tablespoon honey, continue to bake 8-10 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to serving plate. Reduce pan juices until thickened and pour over chicken, garnish with orange slices.

Broth stored in the refrigerator with the fat layer intact does keep a lot longer than without the fat layer, in my experience. "Larding" is an old preservation technique that you might like to research. Without the fat layer, I don't keep broth in the refrigerator for more than 3-4 days. If I have freezer space, I freeze in various size milk cartons--from the 1/2 pint whipping cream size up to 1/2 gallon. These stack nicely due to their square shape, are free for the saving, can be re-used several times (disinfect with a little bleach in water), defrost in the microwave or peel away the carton & add to the pot in a frozen state. Label & date with a Sharpie (before filling to avoid problems using the Sharpie because of condensation on the carton.) And no worry about breaking. I staple the top closed before I freeze. Just remember to remove the staples if you defrost in the microwave. Often as not, I end up canning the broth because my freezer is full. Am on the lookout for a tall pressure canner that will accommodate 1/2 gallon sized jars since I often need 2 qts of broth when making soup--and I'd rather use half as many canning lids if possible. I know there are all sorts of warnings about canning 1/2 gallon sizes but, because broth isn't dense, I'm not especially worried about the risks.