Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup ... Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Put Away the Wool Sweaters ... Brrr!

'Soup and Self-Portrait'

I am all about being outside and gardening right now, but Mother Nature is pulling some tricks! Last night, we had a hard frost, and I spent some time after dark draping the perennials that have set blossoms with bath towels and bed linens to hold off the frost. Today, there's such a brisk breeze that I am back to making soup when I wanted to make curried chicken kabobs on the grill and slurp strawberry daquiris while they sizzled! What's that all about, Mother Nature?

Well, I stowed the extra chicken thighs for future curried kabobs and made a creamy chicken-y, mushroom-y soup that has a nice combination of wild rice and basmati rice. Good thing I have a nice loaf of garlic bread to 'go with' ! We're back to the wool sweaters, sweatshirts, and woodstove!
If you're feeling chilly, here's a wonderfully spicy soup that's full of vegetables, chicken, mushrooms, and rice ... another gluten-free offering for those of you who need GF foods. I'm pretty sure I got this recipe from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks site. It has her stamp on it ... enjoy!

Creamy Wild Rice and Chicken Soup - printer friendly

Creamy Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
courtesy of Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks ?

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, peeled and small dice
1 medium onion, small dice
3 stalks celery, washed, trimmed and small dice
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. white button, or Crimini mushrooms, brushed clean and chopped
2 tbsp. butter
¼ c. dry white wine
½ c. wild rice
½ c. basmati rice
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. ground sage
3 c. chicken thighs, cooked and chopped
¼ c. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 c. light cream or evaporated milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Making the Soup:

1. Sauté the carrots, celery, onion in the olive oil until the onions are transparent. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter in the same pan until the ‘shrooms are browned up.

3. Return the other veggies to the pan and sprinkle in the white wine, rices, thyme, and sage. Stir gently and add the chicken stock and chicken meat.

4. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the rice is al dente.

5. Add the cream or evaporated milk and turn the heat off. Cover and finish the rice.

6. Stir in the parsley, correct the seasonings, and re-cover until ready to serve.

7. Serve with a crusty bread for dipping.