Chicken With Wild Rice Soup

Earlier this year I had sinus surgery.  For whatever reason, I completely underestimated how completely wiped out I would feel after my little procedure.  I had figured that a couple of days later I would be bouncing around full steam ahead.  The reality was quite different.  It was all I could do to take a shower and get dressed.  Darvocet became my best friend.  We spent quality time together camped out on the sofa.  We drank Diet Coke and lots of smoothies.  We watched crappy daytime television.  And we discovered that bad haircut aside, Holden Snyder looks almost exactly the same in 2010 as he did in 1995 when we last caught an episode of As The World Turns.  Cooking was the last thing on my mind.  But since mine is not the only mouth in this house, and the food doesn’t just magically appear, I had to come up with something for The Mistah to eat besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Beth at 990 Square came to my rescue with her recipe for Chicken with Wild Rice Soup.  It requires minimal prep and takes advantage of that kitchen workhorse otherwise known as the crock pot.  Under normal circumstances, I would have moved on to some other project after I got the vegetables prepped and had everything going in the crock pot.  As it was, that twenty minutes of chopping, sweating, and sauteeing was as much work as I could stand that day.  So while the slow cooker did its thing on the kitchen counter, I did my thing on the sofa.  There may have been some light snoring involved, but the only witness was the cat and he knows better than to incriminate the human that feeds him.

Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

Adapted from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever

BAH Note:  For a thicker soup, use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of rice.  If the soup is too thick, it can be thinned out with cream or milk just before serving.  Don’t have a crock pot?  No worries.  This recipe can be adapted for the stovetop.  Once the vegetables are prepped and everything is in a large pot or dutch oven, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for 90 minutes.  If the rice is not tender after 90 minutes, continue to cook, checking for doneness every 30 minutes.  Or bring everything to a boil on the stove and then cover the pot and place in a low oven (about 250 or 275 degrees) for 2 to 3 hours or until done.  I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store but you could roast a couple of breasts to get the 3 cups of cooked chicken.

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
• 1 cup wild rice, uncooked

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, herbs, salt, and pepper and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes until softened.  Remove the vegetables from the pan and place in the slow cooker.

Return the pan to the stove and add the rice.  Cook until the rice glistens and starts to smell toasted.  Transfer the rice to the slow cooker.

Return the pan to the stove and add the mushrooms.  Cook until the mushrooms release some liquid and start to brown.  Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker.

Add the chicken and broth to the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours until the rice is tender and the soup has thickened.

Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, or herbs.

{printable recipe}