Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

These simple ingredients make an excellent soup. I honestly don't think you need any other vegetables or seasonings to make this taste mouth watering.

Whole Chicken, without the neck, washed
2 Bay leaves
1 tsp Rosemary
1 whole Onion, skin removed
2 cloves Garlic, skin removed
6 (or more) cups of water

Put all these things in a large pot and add just enough water to almost cover the chicken. Boil covered for about 2 hours or until the chicken falls off the bone when you try to lift it out of the pot. Pour the entire contents through a large strainer over a large bowl (in other words, keep the broth). Let the chicken cool for 20 minutes or so. Pour the broth through a finer strainer back into the pot. Separate the meat from the fat and bones. Rip meat with hands into pieces the size of a piece of gum and throw back into the pot (it will shred on its own as it cooks more). Discard cooked onion, garlic, bay leaves, bones and fat.

Add to the pot:

6 chopped Carrots
7 stalks of chopped Celery
4 cups water
Salt to taste (about 2 or 3 Tablespoons)
Pepper to taste

30 minutes before serving add:

2 cups milk or 1 cup cream (whole milk works great)
3/4 C. Wild Brown Rice or Wild Rice

Boil until rice is cooked- DO NOT OVER COOK THE RICE!

Stir and serve.

This makes enough soup to feed an army, so we like to freeze the leftovers in single serving size ziplock tupperware, and pop one in the microwave if someone around here gets sick.