Kitchen Sink Soup: What to do with leftover chicken, roasted carrots, and kale? Chicken soup with rice, of course

What to do with leftover baked chicken, 3 cups of kale and leftover roasted carrots. . . on a freezing Friday night after a football game.  Chicken soup with rice, of course.

1 large diced onion
4 garlic gloves - minced in garlic press - or finely chopped
1 tablespoon of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil to sauté the garlic and diced onions
2 32 oz cartons of low sodium (organic) chicken broth
About 1 cup of chicken juice left over from baked chicken (frozen) - see pix below* This really is the secret ingredient so keep those juices after you've carved your meat to reuse later.
4 cups of filtered water
2 bay leaves
4 celery sticks - sliced down the center and diced
3 cups of kale (sliced in ribbons - kale was left over from salad three nights ago - there was no dressing on it - just the kale)
2 cups uncooked Long Grain Brown Rice
Chicken Carcass from leftover chicken** - if available
About 1 1/2 lbs of sliced and cubed cooked chicken - makes about 4 cups
2 cups of (leftover) roasted baby carrots - if using uncooked baby carrots add them the same time as uncooked rice
1 large pot

Sauté  diced onions with minced garlic and olive oil until onions are translucent in large pot.  Slice down the center of the celery sticks and dice.  Add b2 cartons of chicken broth, water and frozen (leftover) chicken juice, add diced celery sticks.  Add two bay leaves. (I also placed the chicken carcass in the broth while it was simmering.)

Once the broth comes to a gentle boil,  add the uncooked long grain brown rice.  (If you are using leftover rice that's already cooked add later at the same time as the cooked chicken.)  Turn down to a simmer, cover and let rice cook for 50 minutes. (As most things that are delicious AND nutritious, the brown rice takes longer to cook so double check the cooking length on the package.)

This is a great time to dice the cooked chicken and roasted (leftover from dinner two nights ago) baby carrots.  This smells incredible simmering on a cold New England night.

One the rice is cooked - be careful not to over cook the rice - add the cooked chicken and roasted baby carrots.  Served with fresh loaf of Italian Bread.  (If bread had been close to stale - would have turned in to croutons which is another family favorite.)

Truthfully - our daughter asked twice when the soup will be ready.  Hope it tastes as good as it smells simmering away.

**Chicken that is arsenic free:

From Whole Foods Market: With our chicken, you get great-tasting meat from animals raised with care:

• No antibiotics — ever
• No animal byproducts in feed
• No physical alterations
• Appropriate litter provided for comfort and to satisfy natural foraging instincts
• No supplemental growth hormones*

*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pork, poultry, goats, veal and bison.