Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

It's been a while since I've tried out a new recipe, since work has been stressful lately and I've been totally drained by the time I come home. This week, I decided to shake things up a bit (cause I'm wild like that) and try out a couple of new recipes that my sister was raving about.

The first is Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice soup, a similar version of which you may have tried at Panera before. This homemade version is just as good, and not laden with preservatives, sodium or anything else unnatural. Darren says it's one of the best soups he's ever had, so that made my night right there :)

CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded 1 - 6 oz package fast cook long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup butter 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk

Directions:

1.	In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat. By the way, I used Uncle Ben's rice...it was perfect for this recipe.
2.	In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream & milk, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
3.	Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.