BEST Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

OMG! I can not say enough about this wonderful soup. I recently made it to take to our ward soup night and not only was it a hit with Brad and I but anyone who tried it and knew I made it was also singing it's praises. It is hearty, filling, creamy and the addition of the curry powder just added to it's deliciousness. This is currently HANDS DOWN my favorite chicken soup recipe and I'll be surprised if I find one that tops it. Pure heaven in a bowl.


Chicken and Wild Rice Soup


Recipe and photo courtesy of Mel from Melskitchencafe.com

*Note: The vegetables in this soup are very adaptable. I used a combination of carrots, celery and corn and use the guideline of having 2 cups total of any number of combinations (i.e. only carrots and corn, carrots and celery, carrots, celery AND corn, you get the picture).

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
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds- I left these out as I didn't have any.
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.

Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

If you haven't been to Cafe Zupas yet...you need to. If you have and you haven't tried their Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup...you need to. Put that on your list of things to do...go. Do it now! I promise you won't be dissapointed.

I have only been to Zupas once, but once was enough and I was hooked. When I got home from my delicious lunch there back in September, I immediately jumped online to see if I could find a similar recipe so I could make and eat this soup whenever I wanted. To my great delight, I discovered this little gem at peachtreecooking.blogspot.com. It is amazing. I like to garish mine with a little grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. If you want to be really naughty you could also add a little bacon. Enjoy!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup


2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I just used regular mustard and it was fine)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Chicken Velvet Soup

I love love love this soup. It is rich, creamy and oh so fast and easy to throw together. With the colder weather upon us, I am starting to want soups more and more. I love having homemade soup for dinner on a cold day. I first had this soup at my sister in law's mothers house a couple of years ago and I have been addicted ever since. In fact when I think back over time about those "favorite" meals I recall having which just tasted so good. This soup is one of them. It was chicken velvet soup in bread bowls served with a side of garden fresh salad and homemade ranch. When I make this, I serve it the exact same way.

This recipe isn't heavy on seasonings, so sometimes if I'm in the mood to kick it up a little I'll add some seasoning to the chicken when I cook it. I've used everything from my favorite dry and fresh herbs to some Mrs. Dash. For a little more I have also added cheese and cooked broccoli. This is a great base soup and you can really add what you like to suit your own tastes and cravings.

Chicken Velvet Soup
From the kitchen of Mrs. Treu
Serves 4


6 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. light cream (I will also use half and half depending on what I have on hand)
3 c. chicken broth
1 c. finely chopped cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter. Blend in flour. Add milk, cream and broth. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce heat. Stir in chicken and dash of pepper. Heat again just to boiling. Serve hot.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Finally a recipe that I didn't steal from another blog!

This recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Soup is from the Cooks Country Cookbook. It was quite easy to make and really yummy. Last night we had four of our good friends and their little ones over for a dinner party and I made this soup. The soup had some elements to it that I would never have thought of which made it different to most potato soup recipes I've seen or tasted. I think this is probably my new favorite potato soup recipe and will be one that I plan to make time and time again.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
From Cooks Country

Serves 8

8 slices of bacon, chopped
3 pounds of russet potatoes, scrubbed (I used washed potatoes)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup of heavy cream
1 sprig of fresh thyme (I used 1/4 tsp of dried thyme instead)
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus additional for garnish
pepper
3 scallions, sliced thin for garnishing(I omitted these- but by accident)

1. Cook the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. While the bacon is cooking, use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of peel from the potatoes; reserve the peels. Cut the peeled potatoes into 3/4 inch pieces. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with oaoer towels. Add the reserved potato skins to the bacon fat in the pot and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potato skins to the plate with the bacon.

2. Add the onion to the fat remaining in the pot and cook over medium heat until golden, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and flour and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the broth and cream, stir in the thyme and potatoes, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 7 minutes.

3. If you used fresh thyme, discard the thyme sprig and transfer 2 cups of the cooked potatoes to a bowl (if you used the dried thyme, there is no need to remove it). Puree the remaining soup in batched in a blender until smooth (I used my hand-held bar mixer or slender blender and did it right in the pot). Reurn the soup to the pot and warm over medium-high heat. Off the heat, stir in the cheese until melted, then whisk in the sour cream. Return the reserved potatoes to the pot and season the soup with pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls (I served this in bread bowls) and garnish with bacon, fried potato skins, scallions, cheese and sour cream.

ENJOY!