22. Slow Cooker North Woods Wild Rice Soup

I tried a slow cooker recipe that I found on the Betty Crocker web site (www.bettycrocker.com)while I was looking for something else. Because I'm pressed for time, a slow cooker recipe seemed like a good idea. This one was especially easy because it was pretty much just a matter of throwing everything in the cooker and turning it on.

Slow Cooker North Woods Wild Rice Soup

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 medium stalks celery, diced (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, diced (1 cup)
1 cup diced smoked turkey (6 oz.)
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 cups Progresso chicken broth (from 32 oz carton)
1 can (12 oz) evaporated fat-free milk
1/3 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 cup Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen sweet peas, thawed
2 tablespoons dry sherry, if desired

1. In 10 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion in oil about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
2. Place onion, celery, carrots, turkey, wild rice, tarragon and pepper in 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Pour broth over top.
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 8 hour or until wild rice and vegetables are tender. Stir in peas last 15 minutes of cooking.
4. Mix milk and flour; stir into soup. Cover and cook about 20 minutes or until thickened.

Makes 6 servings

Changes and Shortcuts:No one in this family really likes peas so I substituted chopped broccoli. The only other change is that I didn't use the brand names that were in the recipe.

ResultsNot bad. The soup was a little thicker than I like. I think the soup would be fine without the turkey.

Keeper?I don't think so.

39. Really Quick, Really Easy Chicken Rice Soup

I try to always have some poached chicken on hand to make quick soups, stir-fry, or chicken salad. This is the kind of soup that can be made with what you have in your pantry. I served it with Sunshine Muffins (recipe follows)


Really Quick, Really Easy Chicken Rice Soup

1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 32 oz carton of chicken broth
1 8 oz package instant microwavable brown and wild rice
2 teaspoons basil
Salt and pepper

Chop carrots, celery, and onion and cook in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and cook until on low heat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice in microwave (90 seconds). Add rice, chicken, and seasonings to broth and cook about 10 to 15 minutes longer until chicken is hot.

Changes and Shortcuts: No changes, since this a “make up as you go” recipe

Results: Makes a nice quick, hearty soup. Various combinations of vegetables, microwave rice, and seasonings can be used

Keeper? YES!

40. Jim's Chili-Chicken Soup

I pulled out The Best of Cooking Light All Time Favorites from Readers, (ISBN 0886-4446) and found this recipe.

Jim’s Chili-Chicken Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1/2 pound)
¼ cup taco sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ cup water
3 (15.75 oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (15 ½ oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 cup cooked long grain rice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook 5 minutes over low heat. Stir in chicken and next 8 ingredients (chicken through chilies); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice. Yield: 8 servings.

Changes and Shortcuts: Somehow some of the cooked chicken that I had in the refrigerator disappeared. No one seemed to know what happened to it, so maybe there wasn’t as much as I thought there was. So, I wound up putting less chicken in the soup. I also had more than a cup of rice so in lieu of the chicken I added extra rice.

Results: Good soup! This is the kind of soup that can be made according to the recipe or can be changed to your preferences. It’s good with chickpeas, but any type of bean would be good. I used much less chicken than the recipe called for, but it was still good. I think it would be good with or without chicken. Wild rice would be good in the soup—I just used instant white rice.

Keeper? YES!

51. Broccoli Wild Rice Soup

This is a great, quick, satisfying soup. Very few ingredients. The seasonings are already in the rice mix, which makes this very quick to throw together.


This recipe was found in the Taste of Home's Fast Fixes with Mixes cook book. (ISBN 978-0-89821-556-4, www.booksarefun.com).



Broccoli Wild Rice Soup

1 package (6 oz) chicken and wild rice mix
5 cups water
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 medium carrot, shredded
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
¼ cup slivered almonds, optional

In a large saucepan, combine rice, contents of seasoning packet and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring once. Stir in the carrot and onion. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in soup and cream cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Stir in almonds if desired. Yield: 8 servings (about 2 quarts)


Changes and shortcuts:
I forgot to pick up a box of frozen chopped broccoli when I was at the store, so I found some broccoli spears in the freezer, poured some out in a bowl this morning, and left them in the fridge to thaw today. While the rice and water were simmering tonight, I chopped the broccoli and shredded the carrot. I'm not a fan of dried onion flakes, so I also minced some fresh onion. I left the almonds out...didn't have any on hand and I'm not sure that we would like the crunch texture in this soup.


Result:
Good quick meal! For a vegetarian, I think this recipe would be good with cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of broccoli and a seasoned rice mix without chicken flavoring.


Keeper? Yes!