Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

If you are familiar with Panera and you love it as much as I do you are probably familiar with their creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  It is so delicious!  Well, here's a healthier way to make it at home and you can eat twice as much because I make it with skim milk instead of heavy cream!  It really does taste like the Panera version and it's so simple to make.  Feel free to cook your chicken however you want.  Sometimes I saute it in a pan, sometimes I roast it and I've even prepared it in the crock pot and shredded it to add to the soup.  Anything works and it all depends on how quickly you want and need the soup to be ready.  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (adapted from tidymom.net)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
4 c. low sodium chicken broth
2 c. water
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked (saute, roast, whatever)
1 (4 1/2 oz.) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet (I used Uncle Ben's)
1/4 c. unsalted butter

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 c. skim milk

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the garlic, carrots and celery.  Saute, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the veggies start to soften.  Add the broth, water and chicken and bring to a boil.  Stir in the rice, reserving the seasoning packet.  Cover and turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter.  Stir in the contents of the seasoning packet from the rice package until the mixture is bubbly.  Reduce the heat to low and stir in the flour, salt and pepper until the mixture is thick and all the flower is absorbed into the butter mixture. Whisk in the milk a little at a time until fully mixed and smooth.  Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove the lid from the soup pot and turn the burner back to medium.  Add the milk mixture to the broth, rice and chicken mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to your taste.  

6 servings (342 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com