Chicken Soup with Rice and Vegetables (aka Alternate Chicken Soup)

Usually, when I say chicken soup, I mean this one. That's the one I usually make. But today I had different vegetables on hand and thought that some major ginger and garlic would go a long way towards fighting this cold that I've got. So here's an alternate chicken soup -- one that might become my go-to.

Chicken Soup with Rice and Vegetables (aka Alternate Chicken Soup)

4 cups chicken stock
5-7 cups water
1 cup brown rice
5 chicken drumsticks (or a similar amount of other bone-in cuts)
1.5-2 cups sliced carrots
2 large onions, diced
4 large cloves garlic, diced
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 small acorn squash, cut into pieces (or 1 brick frozen cooked squash)
1.5 tsp powdered ginger (I only intended 1/2 tsp, but the top fell off the can... and it's good this way)
1 tsp dill weed
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Grease a baking pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Lay the squash pieces on the pan cut side-down and bake about 30 minutes or until soft. (Alternately, you can use frozen squash -- I prefer acorn for this soup because of the color. If using frozen, add it about 1 hour in.)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they have begun to color, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook three or four more minutes. Add the stock, chicken, rice, ginger, and water (if you have frozen stock and chicken, like me, just add them without thawing). Bring to a boil. Stir, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. When the squash is done, scoop it out of the peel, mash, and add to the soup -- it thickens the soup and adds a great flavor. Make sure to keep stirring towards the end as it's a very thick, almost porridge-y soup and may stick to the bottom of the pot. Add more water if you prefer a thinner soup. Before serving, add dill and salt to taste (probably about 1 tsp).

Serves at least 6.