Now that Fall has arrived, get ready for some great Chicken and Wild Rice soup

Today is Tuesday, and every Tuesday I have dinner with my sister and her daughter, Alyson, so that we can catch up and stay close.  She is all the family I have left.  So, feeling guilty about not cooking anything, I decided to think of something I could share with you....

There are two things that I really look forward to once Fall officially gets here - wearing sweaters and making soup!  I love to try all kinds of different soups, but when you find one that just blows you away, you sort of keep coming back to it.  This soup is just that.   I have made it for my family.... I have made it for friends....... I have given this recipe to countless people, and now?  I get to share it with you.

It is really easy, and everything goes into one pan, so clean up is really quick.  Start out by making a single batch of wild rice.  You can use any brand you like.

This is the one I always use.  It has good seasonings in it.

When it is done, set it aside and get a skillet out.  Add a little bit of olive oil and add your cut up chicken breast (I usually use 2-3), 2 cloves of garlic that are chopped, and one Vidalia onion that has been chopped.  I really love thigh meat, so lately I have been using that instead, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  Don't over cook the chicken because when you put everything together, it will finish cooking. 

Once the chicken is no longer pink, add the cooked rice, 2 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth (I am hooked on the boxes of organic chicken broth!), 1/2 tsp of Tarragon, and 1/4 tsp of Thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat.  Before you add the can of evaporated milk, take a little bit out so you can mix approximately 1 tbs  cornstarch with it.  This will be your thickener at the end.

Add the can of milk, and about 2 tbs of white wine.  The last ingredient I add is the Bella mushrooms.  I like to have the heat of the soup cook them (meaning, they don't need much cooking.  If you cook them thoroughly first, and then add then to the soup, they get too mushy)  When everything is blended, begin to add the milk that has the cornstarch in it.  You can make the soup as thick or thin as you like.  We like it more like a chowder, so the thicker the better!  Give it a taste to see if it needs any more salt, pepper, Tarragon or Thyme.  

I really hope you love it as much as we do...

p.s.  I actually did make this tonight, Wednesday, after this post originally went in on Tuesday, and I added some fresh spinach and corn I had cut off of a few cobs.... See?  you can add all kinds of things to change it up a little!  Experiment.....