Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Prep Time: Medium (typical for a soup)

Source: MelsKitchenCafe.com

I was shocked when I went to find my recipe on this blog earlier tonight and realized I'd never posted it! This is one of my favorite soups. I like to make it on a day when I've just made chicken stock and have a lot of hot stock ready to use! I definitely recommend springing for the "real" chicken broth for this recipe, or making your own. It's really just not the same with buillon cubes!

1/2 cup butter

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

About 1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional—we're both mushroom haters, so we leave these out)

1/2 cup flour

6 cups chicken broth

 2 cups cooked wild rice (1 cup uncooked=2 cups cooked)

1 t salt

1 t yellow curry powder

1 t ground mustard

1 t dried parsley

1/4-1/2 t black pepper

 1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

(You can also use 2 cups half-and-half, but I never have that and always have cream.)

In a large pot on medium heat, melt butter and sautee chicken and veggies for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add flour and stir until bubbly; add chicken broth and all spices. Allow to heat through for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it has thickened somewhat. Pour in milk and cream, cover, turn heat to medium-low and allow to very gently simmer for 30-60 minutes. The original recipe says at least 1 hour, but I'm never that patient and it always turns out fine! You don't want the soup to boil, but if it does, just give it a good stir and turn down the heat some. Mine has boiled several times and always been delicious anyway!

Freezer instructions: Add all ingredients except cream/milk/half-and-half; add those when cooking after freezing.