Bring on the Soup!

So now that we have dessert, I guess I should post the soup!  There is nothing better than hot soup on a rainy day...

CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP
4 cups chicken broth (or reserved liquid from cooking the chicken)
2 cups water
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 package Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chicken broth (or butter--depending how fattening you want your soup to be)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk


(If your chicken is not already cooked, you can cook it now and use the cooking liquid as your broth.  Place it in a large pan and cover with water.  Add sliced onion, green bell pepper, a couple stalks of celery and 2 bullion cubes.  Cover and simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Remove chicken and strain the liquid, reserving for the soup.  If you don't want to do this, just use canned broth--they taste about the same)
In a large pot over medium heat, combine the 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water.  Bring just to boiling, then stir in the rice but keep the seasoning packet for later.  If you're using the quick cooking rice, add the chicken now and cover and remove from heat.  If you're using the original rice, continue to cook according to package directions (25 minutes boiling) and add chicken five minutes before the time is up.  
In a separate sauce pan, heat 1/4 cup chicken broth and stir in contents of seasoning packet, salt and pepper.  Cook until mixture is bubbly.  Reduce heat and add flour to form a roux.  Whisk in cream and milk slowly, keeping the mixture smooth as you go.  Cook until thickened, approximately 5 minutes, but don't boil.  Stir the cream mixture into the broth and rice.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, stirring often, allowing the liquids to blend together.  If the soup seems too thick, add water to thin to desired thickness.


NOTE:  When I made this I didn't have enough whipping cream so I had to improvise.  I used 1/2 pint of whipping cream and added an 8 oz. block of fat free cream cheese. I used skim milk and increased the amount to 3 cups.  The flavor was fabulous, but the soup was really thick so I added another 1 1/2 cups water.  The original recipe is still better, but if you need to improvise, the soup is still doable!