Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This is an awesome recipe for chicken and wild rice soup that tastes almost like the soup from Panera! Recipe is from Betty Crocker Cookbook Bridal Edition

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 medium stalks celery, sliced (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
1 large onion chopped (1 cup)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups COOKED wild rice (follow directions on packaging for cooking)
2 cups water
2 cans(10.5 oz each) condensed chicken broth
3 cups half and half (i use less about 2 cups or so...just add till it looks and tastes right)
chopped cooked chicken (as much as you want to add)


Directions
- In 4 quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium high heat. Cook celery, carrots, and onion in butter about 10 minutes stirring frequently until crisp tender
- Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Stir in wild rice, water and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
-Stir in 1/2 and 1/2 and cooked chicken. Heat until just hot DO NOT BOIL 1/2 and 1/2 might curdle.

Some tips for this recipe. You might want to make the wild rice ahead of time. Wild rice takes about an hour to cook. We also added frozen peas to the veggies...just to give it alittle more flavor and nutrition. It is a great and easy soup to make for those cold nights! Just make sure to allow time for the wild rice...the rest of the recipe takes hardly anytime at all!

You can also make it alittle healthier by using fat free 1/2 and 1/2 and instead of butter with the veggies just spray the pot with no stick spray.