Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Before the girls and I left for my parents' house for March Madness, I made a pot of soup for Aaron to eat while he was painting a third of our house.

It's his favorite soup, and I figured it could be a bright spot (and an easy meal) in the midst of all his hard work.

I know, you're dying for the recipe now, aren't you.

I've heavily adapted the recipe from allrecipes.com.

For starters, make a box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice.

Set it aside.

Here are the rest of your ingredients:

You can see that I put the veggies in the food processor and zip them up so they're like confetti!

"Confetti" is significantly cooler than simply vegetables.  Plus, they are cuter and people who are, shall we say, "hesitant" about vegetables don't mind them as much!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice, prepared
2 cups of cooked and cubed chicken (or turkey)
1/2 cup or so of celery, carrots, and onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 tablespoons of butter, divided
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Add the vegetables and garlic; cook until softened.  Remove from pan.  Set aside.

Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.

In the same pot (still on medium), melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.  Stir in the flour mixture about a tablespoon at a time until a paste forms.  Whisk in the half and half a little at time until fully incorporated and smooth.  Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the chicken broth and stir until incorporated.  Add in the veggies, chicken and about 2/3 of the rice.  Stir and be sure the rice is evenly distributed (i.e. no clumps).  Continue cooking on medium until heated through, 10-15 minutes.

You might want to serve it with this delicious bread!

Enjoy!