Copy-cat Panera Cream Of Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 chicken breast halves (cooked, boneless and cubed)
• 1 (6 ounce) package long grain and wild rice blend, quick cooking version (you will use the seasoning packet. i used uncle bens roasted chicken flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter (12 tbsp. or a stick and a half)
• 1 cup carrot, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 3 cups light cream (can lighten by substituting part or all of the cream with fat-free evaporated milk, or half-and-half)

Recipe

• 1 open rice, pull out seasoning packet and set aside.
• 2 in a small bowl, combine pepper and flour. set aside.
• 3 in a large pot over medium heat, combine broth and chicken. bring to a boil, then stir in rice. cover and remove from heat.
• 4 in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. add carrots, celery and onion and saute for 5 minutes. stir in contents of seasoning packet, and continue cooking vegetables until softened, about 5 minutes more. add seasoned flour gradually while constantly stirring, to form a roux. saute roux for 3-4 minutes to cook out raw flour taste.
• 5 whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
• 6 stir cream mixture into broth and rice. cook over medium heat until heated through and rice is done,15-20 minutes.
• 7 alternatively, for those who cannot get the quick-cooking version of the rice, i have put the broth on to boil and cooked the 25-minute version of long grain and wild rice blend according to the directions, while sauteeing the veggies in the butter. i tend to cook the veggies longer this way, and i like them quite soft. i then follow the rest of the directions above, adding the rice/broth to the cream mixture. i've also used fat-free half and half with no appreciable difference in flavor. enjoy!