Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ – 1 cup frozen corn
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half

DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes.
2. Then add flour and stir well. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring the soup just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, while stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.
3. Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow all the ingredients to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half.
4. Let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should not boil but should simmer over low heat so that it thickens slowly.

*The words amazing, awesome, and delicious were exclaimed while devouring this wonderful soup! The curry and mustard flavor added so much and we loved the slight crunchiness of the almonds! It really was that good! Oh, I cut this recipe in half for our family of four and it was plenty with leftovers too. But, I actually used almost the 2 cups of half-and-half because it seemed a little thick to me.