Warm Soup on a cold day!

Chicken Soup IS really good for the soul, it's true.
I found a simple Crockpot Chicken and Rice Soup recipe that called for my parboiled rice - we had everything and it seemed really easy. The only concern? It's a 4-hour cook on low, which for a working girl, isn't great. But that's Ok, Andy works from home on Mondays - plan it for Monday and it'll be fine, except when he doesn't work from home that Monday. Dang it! So I took the ride home to plug it in. Of course, now I'm afraid of Bernard getting into the crockpot - so I stick it on a chair by the window in the dining room - I'm sure all the neighbors are curious why there is a crockpot on a chair - but little do they know the destruction capabilities of our crazy dog.
The chicken was perfectly cooked, I cut it in chunks, the rice was also done well, not mushy or sticky, but great. Kids and adults ate plenty. Crazy not to have soup on a Sunday right? But we can surely toss this one into the rotation.

Slow Cooker Chicken Rice Soup
3 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut in half
1 cup parboiled rice* (also called converted rice)
1 small onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons butter, optional
9 cups chicken broth

Place all ingredients in order in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 4 hours.
A few minutes before serving, remove the chicken from slow cooker and shred or cut into cubes.
Return chicken to the slow cooker, and let it cook for 5-10 more minutes.