stormy weather soup

The stormy season has officially arrived around here - howling winds, driving rain, and power outages.  Which means baking and soup making are in full swing at our house.

I thought I would share one of our favorite soup recipes just in case stormy weather is headed your way as well.

 little hangs making bread to go with our soup

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup 
 (adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:
(I usually double it, so we have leftovers.)

5 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup carrots

1/2 celery

1-2 minced garlic cloves

1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long-grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter

1.5 cups heavy cream/whole milk

This is how I cook the chicken: brown it first in a pan over medium-high heat, then add it to a pot of boiling of for 20 minutes, remove and shred.

1. in a large pot, sauté the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and 1/2 T. butter until the onions are translucent. 

2. Add the broth, water, and chicken to the veggies and bring to a boil.  Then, add rice (reserving the seasoning packet), cover and remove from heat.

3. In a small bowl, combine: salt, pepper, and flower.

4. In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in the contents of the seasoning packet until bubbly.  Reduce heat to low, then stir in the flour mixture, a little at a time.  Then, whisk in the cream/milk a little at a time until smooth, (not thick). 

5. Stir the cream/milk mixture in to the pot with the broth, and cook over medium heat until heated through, about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

A soup dinner at our house would not be complete without bread from this book - Delicious!  Do you have a favorite stormy weather recipe?