Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

I married a football/baseball player.  Soccer never entered the realm of his imagination...until he had a business trip to Seattle and we couldn't reach him and there were tryouts and phone calls from a coach and one thing leads to another and pretty soon you are picking  your husband up from the airport and telling him that he is going to raise a soccer player.  4 soccer players.  (yes I know that was a run on sentence)
It's a great story, but for those who are just looking for a Wild Rice and Chicken Soup recipe, it's best to stick to the story at hand.
Jake is my second son and first soccer player. He went to  Minnesota one summer to play soccer and we followed.  He flew...we drove with the other 5 children for two days straight because that is how much we love watching Jake play soccer...or football....or baseball or anything.  Jake stayed with his team and we stayed in a brand new, very empty, hotel somewhere near  a town called Elk River.  There is a little cafe there called Olde Main Eatery and they were the masters of feeding our small crowd the most delicious home cooked meals you could ever imagine!  Look them up--they have 5 stars.  The point is that they served this creamy wild rice soup that literally warmed the soul and made old Campbell 's soup commercials look lackluster.  If I had a dime for every time my kid's have said, "remember that wild rice soup in Minnesota?"... well let's just say I would have quite a few dimes.
At the risk of ruining their fond recollections of the Olde Main Eatery, I set about to at least put a wild rice soup together that would help them remember the fun we had.  My family loved it and since I believe that every kitchen should have an inexhaustible repertoire of great and varied soup recipes, I thought I would post this baby!

Here's the short list of ingredients you should gather.  I got my wild rice from Costco and I'm sure you don't need HEAVY whipping cream but since that's what Costco sells in the quantity I use then heavy cream it is. After this soup is refrigerated you will need to thin it and for that I used milk.  You know how rice absorbs all the moisture:)

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup by Sweet Suppertime

Prepare:
one cup uncooked wild rice according to package directions and reserve

Saute:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sliced green onions or one medium onion
3 stalks chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:
32 ounces chicken broth/stock (reserve 1 cup for thickening)
4 chicken bouillon cubes *optional
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cooked chicken breast cubed

Simmer for 15 minutes.  In the last 2 minutes add remaining 1 cup of broth (reserved) mixed with 2 tablespoons flour until all lumps are gone.  I always pour this through a strainer to avoid lumping.

Add:
1 1/2 to 2 cups cooks wild rice
2 cups cream

bring back to a low boil and serve immediately.

Garnish and Serve:
Top with slivered almonds, fresh parsley and sliced green onions.

Don't add the rice too far ahead because it will absorb much of the liquid in the soup.  When reheating you will need to add milk or additional cream, but it is delicious the second day if for some wild reason you have leftovers!