Chicken Wild Rice Soup

• 1 1/4 cup of Minnesota Long Grain Wild Rice
• 2 large chicken breasts
• 6-8 strips of bacon
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 6 cups of water
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 medium onions
• 1 bag of mini carrots
• 5 green onions (scallions)
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 2 cans of milk
• Garlic, salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne pepper, lemon pepper & onion salt

Chicken: Put in a glass dish, add a little bit of water so it covers the bottom of the chicken. Add a little oil too. Season with Lemon Pepper and Onion salt. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until done. Make sure to not overcook (that's how you get dry chicken!)
Bacon: Cook bacon to desired crispiness. Set aside.

Boil water and chicken broth. Add the Wild Rice and let simmer for 25 minutes. Add all the chopped vegetables to the rice and let simmer for another 30-45 minutes until rice starts to curl. You can add the salt, pepper and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper now. I kept adding water as I went along. I started with 2 cups of water and 2 cans of broth. But added at least another 4 cups of water to the rice & vegetables as they were cooking. Add more if needed.

Crumble bacon and cut    chicken into small pieces. Most of the water should be gone by the time the rice and veggies are done cooking. If not drain as much as possible. Add two cans of cream of chicken soup and two cans of milk. Let simmer for about 10 minutes or so. 


Saltine crackers & bagel chips are a nice compliment! 
Enjoy!