Creamy Chicken Soup

Mary Grace came home from college during the Christmas holidays and requested the recipe for creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  It's one of her favorites.  I made it last night for my husband, who's feeling a little under the weather.

Recipe originally printed in 2003 Better Homes & Gardens "All Time Favorites Soups & Stews"

1/2 cup wild rice
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 Tblsp butter
4 cups chicken broth
12 oz cooked chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups half and half or light cream

1. In a fine wire-mesh strainer, rinse the wild rice; drain and set aside.
2.  In a 4 qt Dutch oven, cook carrot, onion, and celery in the 1 Tblsp butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add wild rice and chicken broth.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add chicken breast pieces; simmer, covered for 20 to 25 minutes more or until the wild rice is tender.
3.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour and softened butter to make a smooth paste.
4.  Stir the flour mixture into the rice and chicken mixture in the Dutch oven.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Stir in half and half.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes 8 main-dish servings.

My tweaks to the recipe:  I usually use about a cup and a half of chicken, either from a roast chicken I've made or from a grocery store rotisserie chicken - just be sure you've got a plain roast chicken, because the stores inject flavoring into the breast meat.  Cajun or bbq flavored chicken doesn't pair well with this soup.  I've used "Royal Blend" rice from Texmati but it isn't as pretty as wild rice - faster, but not as pretty.  The wild rice is a nice visual contrast to the creamy soup.  You can also reduce the amount of half and half or cream that you add, if you'd like to reduce the calories.

James said it was a tasty warm up on a cold night.  :-)