What's for dinner? ... Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup

The other day I brought home a container of a local grocery store's wild rice soup for Ed and I.  We both gobbled it up and it must have stayed on Ed's mind because this weekend he searched out this recipe and offered to make it....which, since he was busy winterizing the outside stuff around our house...I felt compelled to make it for him.

Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Makes 4 servings...so I doubled it.

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sliced carrot

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup wild rice

1/3 cup sliced onion

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup half-and-half cream

1 1/2 cups cut-up cooked chicken

Mix broth, carrots, celery, uncooked rice, onions, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour, until the rice is tender.

Melt butter, stir in the flour, then the half-half.

Cook and stir 1 minute. Slowly add half-half mixture to the rice mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in the chicken and heat through.

THOUGHTS:  We both thought it was a GREAT soup.  Charley loved it too.  Henry wouldn't try it, but I know if WHEN he gives it a chance it will be a favorite of his (like my frozen corn off the cob, ham and corn soup, my mac and cheese, and the list goes on).  Syd made quite the mess, but liked it enough.  It did take a little time to make.  It isn't just a dump and heat soup.  But it was well worth it and I didn't think the ingredients were too tricky to work with.  I loved that you could just throw the uncooked wild rice into the pot and it cooked with the carrots and celery.  

Enjoy!