Basic Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

I don’t think I’ve sat down and actually wrote about a new recipe in months. As I was putting together this meal, I completely forgot how fun it is to really break it all down…and even more fun to take pictures of it while my impatient fiance is tapping his foot because a man’s gotta eat.

We’re in scary times, my friends. What better place to go than to your warm, cozy kitchen where you can experiment and make it your own? This soup was right up my alley and the one meal I knew I could make that would last us a few days so we can practice this whole social distancing thing. *Am I the only one whose perfectly fine being forced to stay inside to eat and drink and read all my new books??*

Cuddle up, warm up, and eat up all the deliciousness, my friends.

P R E P

I did mine in the Crockpot since I haven’t transitioned into the whole “Instant Pot” phenomenon. You can also do this in a Dutch Oven on the stove, or the IP route if you wish. The only prep required is the cutting of the veggies, which is pretty painless!

What you’ll need

• Crockpot (preferred method), Instant Pot or Dutch Oven.
• 1 cup of wild rice. Make sure this isn’t pre-cooked!
• 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
• 1 cup of white onion, chopped.
• 1 cup of carrots, diced.
• 1 cup of celery, diced.
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
• 2-3 bay leaves.
• 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning (my personal fave). If you don’t have this, I’d do a sprinkle of dried oregano, dried thyme, onion powder, dried cumin, dried rosemary. You can get creative with flavors that you like!
• 1 tbsp of salt.
• Pepper/Pepper flakes to taste.
• 32 oz (1 container) of low sodium chicken broth.
• 2 cups of water.
• 4 tablespoons of butter.
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• 1/2 cup flour.
• 2 cups of milk. I used 2%, you can also use heavy cream if you want the consistency to be more thick.

Optional: sauteed mushrooms.

Serving Size: 8 servings (it will LAST)

Total Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Cooking Time: 4-8 hours

Directions

• Get out your crockpot. Add the uncooked rice, chicken breasts, chopped onion, chopped celery, finely chopped garlic, bay leaves, chicken broth, water, the seasoning blend, and the salt. Mix gently to combine.
• Cover and cook on either low for 4 hours, or on high for 7-8 hours.
  • In your last 30 minutes of cooking, remove your chicken from the crockpot. Shred it with 2 forks.
• All your mixture to cook for another 30 minutes so that the rice can be cooked completely (keep the chicken out). When the rice is done cooking (again, this should be about 30 more minutes), lower the temperature on your crockpot to “warm”.
• In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and oil. Add your flour, mix to combine.
• VERY slowly, whisk your milk into the butter/flour mix. Continue to whisk as you add it in, and be sure to take your time so it doesn’t clump up too quickly. You want this mixture to look thick and creamy (don’t be tempted to add more milk).
• Add your creamy mixture to your crockpot. Stir to combine.
• If adding mushrooms: With a little bit of olive oil (or you ca just use Pam), heat a small saute pan on medium heat. You can chop or dice your mushrooms, depending on how you like them, and add to the pan. Allow to cook until most of the moisture in the mushrooms has dissolved. Add to crockpot.
  • I typically do about 5 oz of mushrooms, or 1-2 cups. They cook down and add great flavor to the soup!
• Season with salt and pepper to your liking, and serve warm!

POST COOKING NOTES

• This will feed a village, and is SO good as leftovers. Make sure to store in an air-tight container; this will last for 5-6 days, or you can freeze it as well.
• I like to add red pepper flakes, and sometimes even hot sauce when I’m feeling extra spicy. Sometimes the salt flavor isn’t strong enough, and it really depends on what YOU like. The tablespoon of salt in the beginning should go a long way, but you can always doctor it up.

 

Let me know what you think! Tag me in your soup creations if you make this–you can follow me on Instagram @ basickneadss.com! Happy eating!

 

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