Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

HO.LY.COW.

This soup is amazing!! It takes a little while to make (took me about 2 hours total but an hour of it is simmering) but it is sooooooooooooooooooooo worth it. And it makes a ton, at least 10 huge, whopping servings. And, I calculated it -- it's only 319 calories (and that's like a 2 cup serving) and it has 21 grams of protein...ultra healthy (except for the white bread bowl I ate it in...). Anyway, here it is. You should make it. Tonight.

½ cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ – 1 cup frozen corn
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice (I used brown rice and it still tasted amazing)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won’t believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring the soup just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, while stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow all the ingredients to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should not boil but should simmer over low heat so that it thickens slowly.

Brad and I are both in heaven right now...and I'm excited to eat it for lunch tomorrow. And mine really turned out like the picture above. I got this recipe from the same blog that Ayrel's posted some recipes http://www.melskitchencafe.com