Our family visiting for the last few days has gone back home and we have been busy getting our house “undecorated”. It seems like we have so much more room and the house is so clean and uncluttered. We are in our first full week of January and have seen extremes in temperatures already this month. It has been said that if you don’t like the weather, stick around as it will change. This is soup weather for sure! A few weeks back I submitted a recipe for wild rice casserole and indicated that one could purchase canned wild rice ready to use. The canned rice is a real time saver if you are in a hurry to prepare this soup. I like to cook large batches of soup and freeze to use later so we have a little variation in our soup menu. This recipe does not have any chicken in it, but one could add some chopped leftover chicken.

Wild Rice Soup

2 Tablespoons butter

1/4 Cup flour

4 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups cooked wild rice (1/2 cup raw)

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup minced onion

1 Cup light cream

1/3 Cup grated carrots

1/4 Cup chopped celery

2 Tablespoon slivered almonds

Melt butter in saucepan; sauté onions, celery and grated carrots until tender. Blend in flour and gradually add chicken broth stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Stir in cooked rice and salt; simmer about 5 minutes and add cream and almonds. Heat to serving temperature, Makes about 6-7 cups.