Thursday, February 9, 2012

Mmmmm, Mmmmmm, Soup

Okay, so I promised I would post an amazing recipe yesterday and Oops! it totally slipped my mind. Was I too obsessed with finding my "fugliest" fabric? Perhaps? Please don't hate me for drifting off a bit....it's hard battling a textiles addiction along with a food addiction!

So, for the recipe.....I have to admit this turned out WAY better than expected and will definitely be a staple in our household from now on. So, onto a little background about this recipe. As you all know, I've taken a bit of a detour from posting my favorite recipes and I have been venturing into the world of quilting. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend this "hobby"! Well, since I've been a little off course I have to admit I've cheated a bit in the "homemade" meals category lately and I recently purchased a container of frozen soup from our infamous Schwan's guy (the girls know him by name).

A couple of nights later, I proceeded to take the tub of soup out of the freezer, let it defrost a bit then warmed it up on the stove. I made some sandwiches to go along with this meal and quite frankly the soup was pretty good. I love Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup anyway, and this wasn't bad.

While we're eating this dinner, my hubby looks at me and says the most wonderful words a woman can hear....."You should try making this soup, it would be so much better!". So, off I was in search of a great recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.....I found it, modified it, modified it some more and now, it's perfect and I'll share it with you:

Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup:

Ingredients:
Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup
5 Cups Chicken Broth (I use the low sodium, MSG free variety - you choose your favorite)
2 Cups water
2 Cooked, Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts, shredded
1 (4.5 oz) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with season packet
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. butter
2 cups milk (the original recipe called for cream and I substituted milk and it is wonderful)
1 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced onion

Instructions:
1 - In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, broth, and chicken.  Bring to just boiling then add the rice from the package.  Cover your pot, remove from heat and set aside.
2 - In a skillet, add a little olive oil, onions, celery and carrots.  Saute over medium-high heat until they just start to get tender.
3 - In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour.
4 - In a medium saucepan, over medium heat melt the butter.  Once melted and bubbly, add the packet of seasoning from the rice.  Reduce heat to low then gradually stir in the flour mixture.  Continue whisking this until all of the flour is incorporated into the liquid.  Begin whisking in the milk slowly, stopping to whisk the mixture and absorb the liquid before proceeding with more.  Continue to slowly add until all of the milk is incorporated into the roux.  Cook an additional 5 minutes or until thickened.
5 - Add your carrots, celery, onions to the pot with the chicken and broth.  Next, stir your roux into the pot with the broth and chicken.  Continue to stir until all ingredients are combined.  Heat soup over medium another 10-15 minutes until heated through.

This is a delicious soup that will fill you up and satisfy your hunger on a cool winter day!  Enjoy with your favorite sandwich, salad or on it's own.  This was a huge favorite of my girls as well.  They both ate the soup and loved it.  The best part, this soup WAS better than the frozen and much, much healthier with no preservatives or weird ingredients I can't pronounce.

So, enjoy, have fun and don't forget - if you find a recipe you like, make it your own and add or remove what you want.....after all, it's your kitchen, you're the cook!!

Have fun!!

Happy Cooking!

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