Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Have you ever wanted the Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe that all the cafes and bakeries have? This one was given to me by a lady I work with and I have since added a few things to make it just the way I remember it in the restaurants. 

Ingredients:

Cooked Chicken or Turkey (the amount is up to you)

2 boxes of Instant Wild Grain Rice (with seasoning packets)

1 lb of Swiss Cheese

1 lb of other easy melting cheese

About 2 cups of whole milk or Half and Half (you may need to add more as the soup thickens)

Vegetables I like to add (again, the amount is up to you)

Onions

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Directions:

Fill a large pot half full with water

Add Rice Packets, Seasoning Packets, and Vegetables.

Simmer until vegetables are soft

Add Milk or Cream

Add Chicken or Turkey

With a stirring spoon, stir in cheese and continue to stir until all cheese is in and incorporated into the soup melted.

*This recipe can make a lot of soup depending on how much you thin it out. It will be a thick soup unless you add more milk.

Chicken Rolls

Photo from Madeline L.

This is a popular recipe that I have made on many occasions. I got the original recipe from a friend and since then have made my own version and I call them chicken rolls.

Ingredients:
1- 8oz can of crescent rolls
3- Chicken Breasts
1-8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1- small can of cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup
Chopped Onions (about 1/2 small onion)
Chopped Celery (about 2 stalk)
Shredded Bacon (cooked) or soft bacon bits
* You can add more or less onion, celery, and/or bacon depending on how much you like.
* Sometimes I will add a little bit of Cheddar cheese for a cheesier flavor

Your favorite Chicken Gravy for the top

Directions:

Cook your chicken (I usually boil them from fresh or frozen) and then cube.
In a bowl, beat soft cream cheese and soup together. Stir in chicken and remanding ingredients.
Spoon mixture into each crescent triangle and roll them up. Place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake in a pre-heated oven set @ 350 for about 30 minutes. Check for doneness. Serve with hot gravy on top.

Photo by Madeline L.

Spotlight Potato Salad

 

Congratulations to my sister in law Sunny. I wanted to spotlight her for her delicious potato salad that she makes, especially during the summer. Every time we go to her house, she goes out of her way to make my husband (her brother) and me something really great. I have more of her wonderful recipes that I will put on this blog in the future but, for now, I want to recognize her for this recipe. This recipe doesn't come with measurements. Come to think of it, Sunny does a lot of her cooking simply by "eye balling" it, and the results, always turn out fantastic. I will, however, provide you with my estimates when I tried it out for myself. Plus, any changes. Thank you Sunny, Enjoy!

According to Sunny's recipe, she uses regular cooked cubed hash browns. I decided to use up some of my potatoes I had in the pantry and yes, I left the skin on them. Being from Idaho, I think the habit of eating the whole potato has not parted from me yet.

Cook cubed potatoes by boiling water until tender.

Drain Potatoes and douse with cold water, drain again.

* I use 6-8 med sized potatoes or 1 large bag of cubed hash browns.

Add chopped boiled eggs.

* I used 1/2-1 egg per potato.

Additional Ingredients:

Chopped Onion

Chopped Pickles

Crumbled Bacon or bacon bits

Mix together

* 1 whole small onion

(I used 1/2 of a Walla Walla Onion)

3-4 large pickles

4-6 slices of bacon or 1/2-1 cup or bacon bits.

Now, she adds Mayo and Mustard.

*Today I used mustard and half mayo, half sour cream. I honestly don't really measure these either but, I am guessing about 2 Tablespoons of mustard and 1 cup of Mayo.

(I used 1/2 cup of each mayo and sour cream approximately)

The nice thing, is you can always add more and it should be good.

Her recipe ends with adding salt and pepper to taste.

(In addition to the salt and pepper, today I added dill weed and paprika)
*

What Salad Calls Out to You in the Summer?