Chicken Wild Rice Soup

How very exciting... my first blog post EVER.... Here goes!

I made this soup for the first time a few weeks ago, and liked it so much we had it again with friends tonight. Hope you like it...

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 pound fresh sliced mushrooms
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups cooked wild rice
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 2 cups half-and-half (or 2% milk plus a little cream)

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 more minutes. Then add the flour and stir well. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly, until all has been added. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer.
2. Next, add the rice, chicken, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper, almonds and sherry. Allow to heat through, then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer for 1 to 2 hours. (Note: Do not boil or your roux will break.)

-This is a variation on a recipe I found online- if you like it, the original recipe called for regular salt instead of garlic plus ½ tsp of curry powder and 1/2 tsp mustard powder.