Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice – and YOUR Cheering Section!

“Mama, can I go sing in the sun room?”

“Of course you can, Katy Rose” I answered her from where I was standing at the sink, not taking the time to glance over.

“Well, can you open the door for me?”

“Can’t you open the sun room door by yourself?”

“Mama, I’m trying to carry my audience!”

I looked over to find her sporting a very serious face while struggling to hold a baby doll, Mickey Mouse, and  plush Tigger half her size. I melted.

What a wise girl. She gets ready to entertain and handpicks her audience to boot! As I finished working in the kitchen to the sound of her singing I couldn’t help but think there was a life lesson to be learned from my youngest.

~Pulls out her well worn soapbox and steps up as she clears her throat~

Katy's Cheering Section

We all need our own cheering section from time to time, to offer a little encouragement at the start of a new day or give us a consoling hug at the end of a particularly hectic one.

You know, its okay to want someone to cheer you on, to have someone to tell you at the end of the day that you “done good”. Its also perfectly okay to seek that out or to just come right out and say “I need a little encouragement today”.

So often  we’re tempted to say things like “I hate this day, I wish it would end”, expressing our frustration and inadvertently spreading negativity (it is contagious, you know) when I really think what we are trying to do is find that one person to offer a smile or a word of praise when we need it most.

Sometimes we forget how effective it can be to just say “Ya know, I could use some encouragement if you’ve got a minute”.

Needing encouragement is normal and it is expected, but I think its easier to lose sight of that in these days of interacting with the world from behind a computer screen. We don’t think to reach out and end up depriving ourselves of the chance to have our own cheering section when we need it most.

The thing is, when you let your family and friends encourage you, it puts you in a better place to give back to them. It’s not being selfish, it’s being human – and a better human at that. Anyway, just what was on my mind today courtesy of the wisdom of a five year old who has the foresight to handpick her audience.

Set up your own cheering section today and while you’re at it, make sure you’re a part of someone else’s cheering section as well.

~steps down and stows the soapbox back in the cabinet behind the pots and pans~

Now on to our recipe. Have you ever eaten something that just made your stomach happy? Well this one makes mine about as happy as a pig in slop! It’s just so good. It’s incredibly easy, too, and perfect for folks who head off to busy days and want a good supper waiting on them when they get home. The ingredients are simple, the recipe is easy, and the results are good. I reckon that just about says it all.

You’ll need: Chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, an onion (I’m using a Vidalia), and a box of long grain and wild rice with seasonings.

You can use bone in or boneless chicken breasts. If you find yourself a little low on chicken, cut each breast into three strips. That way just three chicken breasts will yield nine pieces of chicken, more than enough for four people.

Remember, in the good old days folks could stretch the scrawniest chicken to feed a family of ten!

*I am using the Uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice here and I haven’t seen a generic for it that has the seasoning packet so I stick with name brand on this one because that seasoning packet seasons this dish to perfection and makes it just taste sooooooo good!

Place your chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker and sprinkle your chopped onion over them.

Oh, I forgot to tell you to chop your onion…so I’m telling you to do that now. On second thought, I’m asking nicely .

Cover that with your cream of mushroom soup

I know it is strange for me to be using name brand soup here but I have a good reason. Last year around Thanksgiving I got cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups on sale for 50 cents a can so I bought a case of each. I have these hoarding issues when it comes to finding good deals, which have been passed down from my father, a man who once found tuna fish on sale and bought so much that we had an entire closet filled with nothing but canned tuna. This would have been a lot more helpful, of course, if we had been a family who actually ate tuna.

If you don’t have soup on hand, just go get generic. You’ll save anywhere from twenty to fifty cents a can (possibly more) and when you have a buggy full of groceries taking twenty cents off here and there can really add up fast!

Cook that on low for 7 – 8 hours.

Then, before serving make your rice according to package directions.

You can also make this rice the night before and put it in the fridge.

Before serving, stir in your rice.

Voila!

OH MY YUM!

This is so stinking good!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (Can use fewer, can use bone-in or boneless)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice with Seasonings (I use Uncle Ben's)

Instructions

1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Sprinkle chopped onion over top. Top with cream soup. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. Cook rice according to package directions*. Before serving, stir rice in. Serve hot.
2. *Can cook rice the night before and place in refrigerator. Before serving, stir cold rice in and let cook for another ten minutes or until rice is heated through.

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Posted by Christy Jordan on Aug 19 2010. Filed under Chicken, Crock Pot, Main Course, Misc, Quick&Easy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry