Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

 

 

I know, another soup recipe!  But I got a hankerin' for some soup. It's fall and we had a longer than normal summer and I'm ready for winter food!   I've been making this soup for years, it's adapted from an old Cooking Light recipe.  ( FYI: old Cooking Light recipes are the bomb...new ones?... not so much).

 

The secret ingredient...are you ready?  It's Light Velveeta cheese...oh you shut up you cheese snob, you know you love Velveeta! Who doesn't?...and it's LIGHT cheese, yup, it's healthy. Who knew?  :)  

 (secret: if you can't find Velveeta Light Cheese or the $7.00 per block price tag is a bit high.  You can either: a.) use the full blown fatty stuff or, b.)  substitute 12 slices of American light cheese.  (ie: 2% American cheese slices).

My husband says he can tell when I cheat and use the slices...so be warned.  He has a cheezy palate so he might be right. (who can resist a cheezy joke?)

 

Trader Joe's carries a wonderful, precooked wild rice.  It's what I recommend for this recipe.  But in a pinch you can use a blend like Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, but don't add the seasoning packet.  

 

Oh, and this would be another perfect recipe to use grocery store Rotisserie Chicken. Love that!

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking wild rice (or a rice blend in a pinch, see note above)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Thyme (fresh or dried)
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
10 ounce light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)
2 cups chopped chicken (Rotisserie chicken from your grocer works great!)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

 Directions

Cook rice according to package directions,
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with olive oil.
Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Add Thyme.
Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until potato is tender.
Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk.
Add the milk mixture to potato mixture; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Stir in rice, chicken, pepper, and salt.
Garnish with parsley, if desired.

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