Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Directions

• Lightly coat a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
• Put the carrots, celery, potato and onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Stir in the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated.
• Rinse the wild rice and add to the slow cooker on top of the vegetables.
• Arrange the chicken over the rice, then pour in 5 cups of the chicken stock.
• Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Tip: If you are using precooked slow-cooker shredded chicken, omit the raw chicken breasts and only cook the vegetables and rice at this point.
• Remove the chicken and shred. Return the chicken to the slow cooker. Tip: This is when I added my precooked slow-cooker shredded chicken.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until the flour mixture is golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Gradually pour in the milk, constantly whisking to remove any lumps.
• Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
• Stir often until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes.
• Pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker and stir to combine.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.