Category: Soups

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Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Chicken Wild Rice Soup. (6 to 8 servings)

  • 2 average-sized chicken breasts, cooked and diced (1 “Dolly Parton”)
  • 2/3 cup wild rice, cooked (about 45 mins), drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
  • 5 strips of bacon, cooked until crisp and broken into bits
  • Soup base:
    • 3 TBS butter
    • 1 cup diced onion
    • 1 cup diced celery
    • 2 cups diced fresh mushrooms
    • 3 TBS flour
    • 6 cups chicken broth
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • 1/2 cup cream (1/2 & 1/2)

Sauté onions and celery in butter for about 5 mins. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 5 more mins. Stir in flour and cook about 5 more mins checking to make sure it doesn’t brown too much. Slowly stir in broth. Simmer for about 15 mins.

You can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time. About an hour before you are ready to serve, bring the soup base to a low boil and stir in chicken and rice. Right before serving, stir in bacon almonds and cream. Heat through.

Disclaimer: I really don’t measure when I cook, so please use your own judgement! These measurements are my best estimates!

This recipe is courtesy of Martha Best, whom this site is dedicated to.

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Beer Cheese Soup

Beer Cheese soup was something my wife and I discovered during a visit to Wisconsin one summer. We loved it so much that I deconstructed the recipe and added my own little tweaks. The result is a wonderfully rich and hearty soup that is great on a cold winter’s day. Feel free to add your own tweaks as this is by no means perfected yet. In fact every time I make it i do something a little different.

Prep Time: 3 hours (most of which is creating the broth)
Servings: 8-10 adults

Ingredients

  • 1 Ham Bone (optional but produces the best results, If no ham bone, add 2 cans of chicken broth and butter to your shopping list.)
  • 2 Cups Chopped Ham
  • 2 bottles of dark beer (Ale or Lager is your choice. Go with something you like but no light beers!)
  • 4-5 Celery Stalks
  • 2-3 Carrots
  • 4 Large Potatos
  • 2lb Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 Medium Onion
  • Spices: pepper, paprika, garlic salt

Directions

  1. Chop celery, carrots and onion into small cubes about 1/2 inch. Put ham bone, celery, carrots, and onion in a large 5 qt pan and add just enough water to cover ingredients. (If you do not have a ham bone, you can substitute a half a stick of butter and 2 cans of chicken broth. add enough water to make the pan about half full)
  2. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 2 hours.
  3. After the broth has been made. Peal and chop potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and add them to the pot. Remove or add enough water to where the potatoes are just covered by liquid.
  4. Bring back to a boil until potatoes are soft and cooked.
  5. Remove from heat and partially mash the potatoes. I find an immersion blender does this task perfectly but a hand masher can also be used effectively.
  6. Add beer, ham and cheese and stir till melted and well mixed.
  7. Add spices to achieve desired flavor (about a tablespoon of paprika, a table spoon of pepper and a teaspoon of garlic is how I like it.)
  8. Bring soup back to a low simmer then turn off heat and serve with a hearty bread for dipping.