Cream of Wild Rice Soup

Baby, it's FRRREEZING here in Minnesota. I'm tired of being cold. I needed something warm in my tummy. My nephew's favorite soup is Cream of Wild Rice so I thought I'd give it a go. This recipe came out of my Byerly's cookbook that I got as a wedding gift years ago and have barely opened. I altered it only a bit. It was delicious and easy. "Restaurant Quality" is the word I heard from those I shared it with. So, here you go, warm yourself up with a yummy in your tummy bowl of soup.

Wild Rice Soup
6 T Butter
1 T minced Onions
2-3 T minced Carrots
1/2 C Flour
3 C Chicken Broth
2 C Wild Rice cooked
2 C chopped cooked Chicken
1/2 t Salt
2 C Half and Half
Pepper to taste

Melt butter in soup kettle; saute onions and carrots for a couple of minutes. Blend in flour and stir in broth. Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for a minute and stir in rice, salt and chicken. Simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in half and half. Heat to serving temp and serve.

How to cook Wild Rice
Follow your package directions but instead of using water, use chicken broth. Makes the rice much more flavorful. The directions I used needed about 15 more minutes of cooking time, so taste your rice to make sure it's not too crunchy.
MINCE the carrots into tiny little pieces. I think this was about 6 baby carrots.
Never one to follow directions completely (I didn't melt butter first)..I put the butter, onions and carrots in the pot and cooked it for a couple of minutes.
When the carrots and onions are softened, add the flour and give it a whisk. This is what it looks like.
Add your chicken broth and whisk around so that the flour isn't clumpy. You want this to be smooth and creamy. Add your 1/2 and 1/2 and bring to a boil.
I wanted chicken in mine and had some in the freezer so I chopped that up and threw it in.
Add your rice and give it a stir. Heat to serving temp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I used white pepper because I think it's a bit more mellow.
Warm yourself up with a tasty bowl!