Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

A copy-cat version of one of Panera's most-loved soups.

Chef Notes: Taking into account some of the comments, we made some revisions (reflected below) the first time out, and it turned out to be good ones. We did add mushrooms, but my daughter asked to remove them next time even though she likes mushrooms. She said it took away from being like Panera's soup which she loves!

ingredients

6 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breast halves (boneless, cooked and shredded)
6-oz pkg long grain and wild rice blend, quick cooking version (Uncle Ben's)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped (optional)
3 cups half and half

preparation

1. Open rice, pull out seasoning packet and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine pepper and flour. Set aside.
3. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth and chicken. Bring to a boil, then stir in rice. Cover and remove from heat.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add carrots, celery and onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in contents of seasoning packet and mushrooms if using, and continue cooking vegetables until softened, about 5 minutes more. Add seasoned flour gradually while constantly stirring, to form a roux. Sauté roux for 3-4 minutes to cook out raw flour taste.
5. Stir in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
6. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through and rice is done, 15-20 minutes.

yields

6-8 servings

source

Food.com

nutrition

See Nutrition Facts at myfitnesspal