Easy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This happens to be one of my favorite recipes. Soup is the original one-dish meal. Stock up on supplies on your next trip to the grocery store, and you'll have everything you need to take the chill off. Makes about 12 cups.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 8 cups water (or chicken broth or half water and half broth)
• 1 (6.2 oz.) pkg. fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix (such as Uncle Ben's)
• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (8 oz.) loaf pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed (such as Velveeta).
• 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Directions:

Saute onion, celery, and carrots in a lightly greased Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes.

Add water (or broth), seasoning packet from rice mix, broccoli, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice; reduce heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes.

Add cheese and soup; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serve immediately.

Source: I originally found this recipe a long time ago in a Southern Living Magazine (Carol Michael Hewitt, TX) and changed it a bit to suit my own taste. I have been doubling and freezing the recipe for years. I like to add more chicken broth to make it soupier. Everyone I serve it to enjoys it.

By luv from NJ