Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Stock your pantry ahead of time to whip up this delicious satisfying soup. It comes together quickly for a nice meal. I got the recipe from Southern Living Magazine (Carol Michael Hewett, Texas). I made a few changes by adding celery, and adding 3 more cups of broth (because we don't like soup that thick). The original recipe called for 5 cups of water. I used part water and part chicken broth.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 13 cups

Ingredients

• 1  onion, chopped
• 1  cup  chopped carrot
• 1  cup  chopped celery
• 8  cups water (or chicken broth or half water and half broth)
• 1 (6 1/4ounce) package  fast-cooking  long grain and wild rice blend (such as Uncle Ben's®)
• 1 (10 ounce) package  frozen chopped broccoli
• 2  cups  chopped  cooked chicken
• 1 (8 ounce) package processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta®)
• 1 (10 3/4ounce) can  cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Directions

1. Saute´ onion, celery and carrots in a lightly greased Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes.
2. Add water (or broth), seasoning packet from rice, broccoli, and chicken.
3. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice; reduce heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes.
4. Add cheese and soup; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
5. Serve immediately.