Tamron Hall's One-Pot Chicken Soup-ish Is the Easy Recipe You Need on Busy School Nights

If we were to ask you about your favorite after-school activities, we would be willing to bet that cooking dinner is not at the top of that list. After all, by the time you get the kids home from practice, help them with homework, and start thinking about what to make for dinner , your energy tanks are running on empty and the last thing you want to do is spend any more time than necessary preparing (or cleaning up after) a meal. Well, Tamron Hall , the Emmy Award-winning television host and author, is here to save the day with her latest project: a must-read new cookbook filled with beginner-friendly, and pressure-free meals your entire family will love.

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A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen by Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling drops in early September 2024 but is available for pre-order now . The cookbook contains recipes for mouthwatering dishes like Baked French Toast with Sparkling Berries, Crispy Fried Chicken, Harissa Roasted Carrots with Queso Fresco, and Chai-Spiced Pudding, as well as cocktails and mocktails to help you unwind after a long day.

“The cookbook has been brewing for a few years now,” Hall told SheKnows of her new cookbook. “After my father passed away my deep appreciation for his incredible meals intensified. I missed countless things but the image of him in the kitchen would always make me smile and in many ways learning to cook was connecting with him.”

Hall and Steiling understand how exhausting and demanding parenting can be and they hope A Confident Cook will help relieve some of the stress involved with preparing kid-friendly meals. ” I hope busy parents will see how much we are all in the same boat,” Hall said. “We want great food that everyone in the family can enjoy without pressure on the cook.”

To celebrate the launch of the new cookbook, Hall and Steiling are sharing one of the recipes featured in A Confident Cook with SheKnows. The dish is called Chicken Soup-ish and Hall and Steiling describe it as a cross between a soup and a stew.

“A one-pot meal is always a winner in my home,” Hall said of the Chicken Soup-ish recipe. “The recipe is also about technique. Using the broth to prepare the rice is a game changer and is a way to build confidence, and introduce new ideas and ways to explore flavor with an unassuming traditional dish like chicken soup.”

A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen

Without further ado, here is the recipe for the one-pot wonder meal your kids will be begging you to make on repeat.

Chicken Soup-Ish Recipe

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES | YIELD: SERVES 4

We think there really is something to be said for the healing, comforting qualities of chicken soup. In this one-pot version, the soup gets a velvety texture due to cooking the short-grain rice in the broth itself. It lands somewhere between a soup and stew, in that area we call “a warm hug.”

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
• 1 onion, cut into ⅓-inch pieces
• 1 large carrot, cut into ⅓-inch pieces
• 1 celery rib, cut into ⅓-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon Calabrian chili paste or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 (3-inch) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind, optional
• ¾ cup short grain rice, such as arborio
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about ¾ pound
• 2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, from half a lemon
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, to finish

Instructions:

• Heat a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pan and heat until the oil moves freely in the pan, an additional 30 seconds.
• To the hot oil add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often until fragrant and the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Calabrian chili paste. Add the broth, water, Parmesan cheese rind, and rice. Stir to combine. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
• Bring to a simmer and reduce the temperature to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Slide in the chicken breasts and cook, stirring occasionally until the flavors have married, the rice is tender, and the chicken breasts are cooked all the way through, about 20 minutes.
• Remove and discard or eat the Parmesan rind. Remove the chicken to a plate and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the spinach until wilted. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve topped with a snowfall of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Excerpted A CONFIDENT COOK: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure, Fun in the Kitchen copyright © 2024 by Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling. Used with permission of Hyperion Avenue. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.