Wild Rice Soup

serves 8 (I typically double the recipe)
1/2 c wild rice (buy at Whole Food's or Smith's bulk, it's the least expensive that way)
1 1/4 c water
1 chicken bouillon
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 c onion
1/2 c carrots
1/2 c celery
1/3 c flour (or cornstarch equivalent)
4 c chicken broth
1 c half and half (or use half milk, half cream)
2 c cooked chicken
Combine in small casserole the rice, water and bouillon cube. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Chop and fry bacon crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Saute onions, celery and carrots in bacon fat. Blend in and brown flour. Add chicken broth slowly. Stir until it starts to thicken over medium heat. Add baked rice cream and chicken. Cook five minutes, but do not boil. Either add bacon back into soup or garnish before serving.

Hints: Let it sit overnight before serving. Do not use more vegetables than what it calls for. Cook the chicken and the rice in the oven at the same time. (If you cook in the same dish, you'll double the cooking time of the rice, and will want to watch to see if the chicken should be taken out earlier). I like to use dark and white meat if it's possible. You can remove some of the bacon fat, but be careful not to remove to much. You can also use whole milk. (For parties, I usually put all the fat and the 1/2 and 1/2 in, but if it's just for my family, I'll try to cut back on the fat. But it's never quite as tasty :)