Left over chicken and rice soup

Remember that juicy chicken that I made in the crock pot last night? Well I figured out what I was going to make for the perfect soul food for a cold winter's night. Chicken and rice soup. Yum yum. I wanted to use brown rice because of the nutrition value but I just had quick cooking brown rice which I don't think would be good for the recipe. Here's the recipe:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3-5 cups cooked, shredded chicken (you choose how much chicken you want in the dish we used 4 cups)
5 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3-4 cups cooked white rice (we used 4 cups)
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
A few dashes of red pepper flakes for a kick (optional)

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions, and stir until tender (about 5 minutes). Add garlic, stirring for 1 minute. 

2. Add celery and carrots, cook for another 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of broth and 1 cup of water and boil veggies until almost tender. 

3. Add chicken, the remaining chicken broth, water, rice, Dijon, salt, pepper and parsley (we omitted parsley). Stir and reduce heat to low. 

4. Let simmer until thick (the rice will become almost a "slop") or you can stop simmering when it gets to the constancy you want.

5. Turn off heat. This is where you would add a few dashes of red pepper flakes for a kick if you wish.

6. Stick spoon in mouth and savor the heartiness. hehehe

Makes 8 servings