Cold Weather Comfort

During my husbands last deployment he had a decent meal one day. That in and of itself is amazing because as most sailors will tell you, ship food sucks. As he was describing the deliciousness that he ate, my interest was piqued.

“Okay, I’ll bite…what did you eat”

“Chicken and rice soup but some of the rice was black but didn’t taste burned”

“That sounds like chicken and wild rice soup”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

So I perused a million recipes on Pinterest trying to find a recipe that I had all the ingredients for or could at least obtain. Of course I couldn’t find a perfect recipe. Luckily for me, taking several recipes and making them a hybrid of availability has made this a family favorite.

When it comes to cooking I love to wing it and adjust to taste. That is really what inspires my food passion. Creating something from nothing. Rice and chicken are pretty blah on their own, but add a little of this and a little of that and voila an amazing experiment.

Frankenstein Recipe

The first thing I did to all the recipes I found was eliminate the canned broth suggestion. I wanted to make my own broth, a bone broth. I wanted flavor and all the extra vitamins and nutrition I could get. Simple solution was to get a whole chicken and throw it in the crock-pot. I cooked the chicken for 6-8 hours until completely cooked. I also eliminated the water suggestions since I would be exclusively using the bone broth as the sole liquid minus the small amount of milk needed.

FUN FACT: Why 6-8 you may ask, power in Japan… the hertz is different than in the states so timed things and heat temp are effected. This is most prevalent in my crock-pot, my coffee pot (can’t set the timer to have coffee auto start because who knows what time it will actually trigger) and plug in alarm clocks (we use our phones exclusively now so that was an easy remedy). So I don’t know exactly how long it cooked for but that is my best guess.

After the chicken is cooked through and has released its juices into the crock I pull the whole bird out and let it rest/cool. Years ago I got a nifty cutting board from a friend who sells pampered chef that will hold up to 2 cups of liquid. I love this cutting board for meals like this because I don’t waste a drop of drippings while the bird cools or while removing all the meat. This makes putting the juices back in the crock-pot with the bones super easy.

De-boning the bird

When given the option, I prefer to use my hands when taking the bird apart as much as possible because I find it easier and less wasteful. I am not a master butcher so when I use a knife I feel like my cuts are not as accurate as they could be and I shred more of the meat unintentionally. Or that I leave more of the meat on the bones than I am wanting.

First I strip back the wings, the bird is so tender you could just high five the chicken and send the whole wing flying. I popped both at the joint and set aside. Next I divided the leg quarters (the thigh with the leg). After I removed the breasts. I checked the rib/ surrounding bones for missed meat and put them back in the crock-pot with the drippings.

Next I started removing the bones from the wings and quarters. The wings don’t have much meat so I eye ball them hard to see if they are worth my time to fiddle with. About half I left as is and just put it right back in the juices. Legs and thighs are much easier since the bones are bigger and there is more meat. After all the bones had been pulled I diced away and set aside.

Bone Broth

I add 8 cups of water to the bones which completely submerges them. I also put in any fat and skin. There is flavor and collagen and other goodness that we don’t want to miss out on. Plus since the bird is in the crock the skin doesn’t have that crispy texture that makes it tasty for snacking. I try to cook the bone broth as long as possible for maximum flavor and to try to get every bit of nutrition out of the bones and into the broth as possible.

Time Management

While the chicken is cooking (not the broth) take advantage and dice your onions and celery and carrots. Save the ends that you would throw away because those can be put in the bone broth for extra flavor and they will get strained out before it goes into the soup. If you are smart you will toss a bay leaf in the bone broth too. I am not always smart.

If I can coordinate well I will start the bird before bed and then start the bone broth first thing in the morning to cook through the day. Then I will assemble the soup because after the chicken is cooked and the broth is made the rest just whips up fast. Everything can be prepped ahead of time to make it almost a dump and go soup the next day.

I like cooking the veggies before I assemble the soup. There is extra flavor to be had if you can get some browned edges on the carrots and such. I also toss in some minced garlic but I don’t pre-cut it like the other veggies. I mince it fresh. Cooking the veggies first also eliminates some extra liquid in them so their own juices wont dilute the bone broth flavors.

Starting to look like soup

Next I add the stock. To do this I put a mesh colander over my stock pot and pour the crock-pot contents right in. I let it drip dry over the stock pot to not waste a drop. I ladle out some of the stock trying not to get too many chunks into a protein shake blender bottle. It is my kitchen secret weapon. I pull out a cup or so to let it cool but I will explain that more in depth in a bit.

Throw in the chicken and the rice and let the rice cook and soften. The black (wild) rice takes the longest so if you are taste testing for ‘done-ness’ then make sure you nibble one of those.

Learn from my hard lessons!!!

Add the rice seasoning packet to the reserved stock and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 cup of whole milk. Then blend it up. I like the blender bottle because it makes quick work of the corn starch and seasonings and leaves it lump free. Trying to sprinkle it in to the stock pot and work the lumps out…forget it.

“Ain’t nobody got time for that”

Big side note here for SAFETY do not shake hot liquid. If the liquid is hot it will build pressure from shaking and splatter the liquid. Possibly before you intentionally open it… I may have learned a hard lesson making some VERY creamy hot chocolate. It was the best cup of hot chocolate I have ever had and I have never made it like that again. If you let it cool and add the milk it should definitely be cool enough to shake safely. I love this method for making gravy too.

Pour the slurry into the stock pot. I usually add a few tablespoons of water back into the shaker bottle and give another shake to make sure all the bits and flavor get into the soup. Give it a good stir and then I turn off the heat and put the lid on. Give the cornstarch a little time to thicken the soup. We are inhaling the soup usually within 10 minutes or so. Of course season to your own tastes but I put tons of stuff in my soup because I LOVE a rich flavor especially because I worked so hard to build it.

Enjoy your labor of love

This is a dish that quickly became a staple in our house. If you’re looking for a feel good meal then this is exactly what you are looking for. It is quite easy to make but tastes super complicated. The hardest part of making the dish is time if you want to get the full effect of the flavors. I am sure I could whip this up in less time on the stove but the flavors wouldn’t have a chance to get as concentrated as they do with the slow cook.

We have actually made this twice in the last week because it is so good and so satisfying. I learned my lesson quickly that this should be made in bulk because it gets scarfed down. But it also keeps well in both the refrigerator and the freezer. I love to cook but I am not immune to lazy days. If I can have a home cooked meal at TV dinner convenience, count me in. So thawing some soup to warm my weary soul is perfect.

I hope you love this soup as much as my family. What foods warm you on a dreary day? Are you going to try this? If you try it comment below!

Wholesome Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

In a crock-pot cook:
1 Whole Chicken (lightly seasoned)

Dice and set aside:
1 Pound of Carrots
1 Whole Bunch of Celery
2 Medium Onions

When cooked remove chicken and separate meat from bone then dice. Return bones to crock pot. Add the following and cook all day:
8 Cups Water
1 Large Bay Leaf
1 Helping of Kitchen Scraps

In a large stock pot add in the diced vegetables and cook until tender and beginning to brown. When onions are translucent add:
4 Cloves Garlic (minced)

Put a strainer over the stock pot and pour in the bone broth. Reserve 1 cup of liquid. Add the following:
1 Chicken (diced)
2 Boxes of Wild Rice flavor “Rice-a-Roni”

Cook until rice is tender. In shaker bottle add:
1 Cup Bone Broth (reserved)
1 Cup Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon White Pepper
1 Tablespoon Pink Himalayan Salt
2 Seasoning Packets from rice
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
1 Tablespoon Dried Basil


Pour into stock pot and allow to thicken. Serve hot.