Wild Rice and Chicken Soup for Crock-Pot

Sister Ginny Dredge was one of the CES Institute Missionaries here in Durham, NC a few years back. She would make this soup for us every so often and I fell in love with it. I'll be honest, I didn't know what to make of it at first, but it was FANTASTIC! I couldn't find any canned cream of potato soup out here, so I adapted the recipe based on what I could find. I also substituted chicken broth for water in two of the steps to help create a fuller flavor to the soup. Enjoy!

Cook time: 3 ½ hours                                                              Serving Size: 8-10 servings

• 1 bag Bear Creek Creamy Potato Soup
• 7 cups water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Original Flavor
• 1 Cup Chicken broth
• 1 ¼ Cup Water
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In Crock-Pot, add Potato Soup mix, 7 cups water, 1 cup chicken broth. Stir well. Add chicken breasts. Turn Crock-Pot to high and set timer for 90 minutes.  
2. Add Uncle Ben’s rice and box seasoning. Add additional water and chicken broth. Whisk soup and rice well paying attention to soup mix that may have settled on bottom of Crock-Pot under chicken. Soup may still appear to be watery and not thick yet. Don’t worry. Set timer for 90 minutes.
3.  Remove chicken from Crock-Pot and shred. Set chicken aside. Whisk soup well paying attention to ingredients on bottom of the pot. Add chicken and mozzarella cheese to Crock-Pot and stir well. Set timer for 30 minutes to allow soup to finish thickening.

Note: Great to serve with Bread Bowls. I love this one from  Sally's Baking Addiction.

Tortellini Soup

Getting chilly in your neck of the woods? Enjoy this recipe for Tortellini Soup from my brother Craig: This is a great soup for a cold winter night, especially when you don't have a lot of time to make a "homemade" meal that takes forever. It's also a great way to get some vegetables in your diet, but in a yummy way! Serve with a little buttery toasted bread and you've got yourself a tasty supper. The best part is that it's even better the next day!  

• 3T olive Oil
• 1 Clove garlic, minced
• 3 stalks, celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion diced 10 oz box frozen spinach, unthawed (or skip it like my brother does...)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans water 
• 32 oz chicken broth
• Family size package of cheese or chicken tortellini, half cooked

1) Put olive oil in the bottom of a large soup/stock pan
2) Saute' garlic, celery, carrots and onions until tender
3) Add frozen spinach. Break up blocks of spinach as you cook
4) Continue to saute' until spinach thaws, then heats up
5) Add cream of chicken soup and water
6) Add chicken broth and then add tortellini
7) Heat and Serve
 
Note: It's better to eat it a few hours after it's made so the broth soaks up into the noodles. Better yet, make it the night before.

Krisanne Bosen's White Bean Soup

While in college, my roommate Jessica would make this soup. It was one of my favorite comfort foods. When we went to San Diego for our roommate Tammy's wedding, her mom had her yummy soup waiting for us after a long drive from Utah.

• 4 Boiled Chicken Breasts
• Sauté: 
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Med Onions Chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves (2 tsp Minced Garlic)
• 2-4 oz Cans Chopped Green Chilies
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
• Dash of Emeril Pepper (I use regular pepper)
• 3- 16 oz Cans White Beans
• 5 Cups Chicken Broth
• 3 Cups Monterrey Jack Cheese
• Sliced Avocado

Combine all ingredients except cheese and avocado. Simmer 10-15 minutes.
Cover with cheese and avocado.

Crock pot version:
Combine all ingredients (chicken can be raw) in crock pot. Cook on high 2 hours, low 4 hours.

Shreaded Pulled Pork

2-3 lbs Porkloin Roast
1 Can Chicken Broth
2 tsp. Rosemary leaves
Garlic salt (to taste)

Combine all together in crock pot. cook for either 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Shred with forks before serving.

Great with rice!

Variations: add chopped green peppers (canned) or salsa verda for pork taco salad.

Freeze extra for a quick meal later on: