... Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

After all that eating over the last long weekend, I decided that soup would probably be a good idea for dinner. A hearty soup because, you know, after eating as much as you do over Thanksgiving, your stomach seems to think you're hungry every thirty minutes.  This one, though, this one is a light hearty soup.  Win win.

Funny, it doesn't look light...

... but it is, and it's delicious!  Now, I don't know that the same could be said for the popover and wine (light, no; delicious, yes), but hey, it evens out, right?

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
serves 8

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking wild rice
cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
10 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velvetta light)
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes.  Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until potato is tender.

Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk.  Add the milk mixture to potato mixture; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.  Stir in rice, chicken, pepper, and salt.  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Taylor's Notes:
A few tweaks to this one... to begin with, I used shredded 2% mild cheddar and shredded 2% sharp cheddar instead of the Velvetta.  It didn't melt as well as the Velvetta probably would have, but it's also not overly processed goop.  Another switcheroo I made was to use rotisserie chicken instead of the chicken breasts.  I removed the skin, of course, and only used the white meat from the breast.  


I also added mushrooms and carrots to the mix for a little extra color and flavor.  I put the carrots in with the potatoes and then added the mushrooms after the milk mixture had thickened.  After I added the cheese, I let the soup simmer for a while until the mushrooms were tender and then served it with a little parsley on top, which added a great, bright fresh flavor to the soup.


Enjoy!