Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

This is another recipe from Taste of Home's 2015 Annual Recipes.  It will be soup season soon and this will be a great addition to my winter lineup.  It's kind of a spin on Greek lemon and chicken soup..which we call Holy Moley soup in my house; but it's really called Avgolemeno. It's a crock pot recipe so I can toss this together and have dinner ready when I get home from work.  The brown rice adds a ton of protein.

2 tbsp. olive oil
2lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 14.5oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth
8 C. coarsely chopped Swiss chard, kale or spinach
2 large carrots, finely chopepd
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium lemon, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 C. lemon juice
4 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 C. cooked brown rice

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium high heat.  Add half of the chicken; cook and stir until browned.  Transfer to a 6 quart crock pot.  Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.

Stir the chicken broth, vegetables, lemon slices, lemon juice, peel and pepper into chicken. Cook covered, on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender.  Stir in rice; heat through.