Friday Favorites

I don't know about where you live, but it's starting to get chilly here. When I say chilly, I mean we're in the 60's and that actually means it's freezing. But there is absolutely nothing better than being all bundled up in your favorite sweats and eating hot soup for dinner. Actually, the only thing better than that is coming home to the smell of that hot soup simmering in your crock pot all day. Yummmmm. So for this week's Friday Favorites, I've linked to a couple of my favorite soups below.

BONUS: I've included a super secret recipe to a copycat of Panera Bread's chicken and wild rice soup. Put on some stretchy pants and let's do this.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
This one is so easy, it's stupid. If you can just get past the fact that you're using a half brick of Velveeta cheese, I promise you'll enjoy this. I will be the first to admit that using a "cheese product" in anything is probably immoral. But selling your soul to the devil on this one is totally worth it, I promise. This is one of those "I have absolutely no time to make dinner, what am I going to feed my kids" kind of meals (as if I know what that's like). It's seriously so fast.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Pair this with a loaf of French bread and you'll be horizontal for hours trying to recover. Seriously, just unbutton your pants before you sit down at the table. Save yourself some time. Or just don't wear pants at all. This is another stupidly simple recipe. Are you noticing a theme here? If you're wondering whether or not I'm lazy, just remember that my nickname is "sloth." Alright, back to the soup. This is the perfect fall soup. Ya got your meat. Ya got your potatoes. If you've got a lumberjack boyfriend type, he'll be impressed with this. Guaranteed.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
The grand finale. You guys. This soup is everything. It's a little time intensive, but if you have a servant kid that you can trust with a knife, you can probably cut the prep time in half. There's a lot of slicing and dicing in this one. If you've ever had this soup at Panera Bread, you can appreciate this recipe. So creamy. So delicious. I credit my sister's father-in-law with this recipe. I'm pretty sure that's where this came from. If not, just take the credit Phil.**** Without further ado:

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked, boneless chicken breasts (shredded)
1 (4.5 ounce) package Uncle Ben's chicken and wild rice w/seasoning packet
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup chopped mushroom (I usually use more - love mushrooms)
1/2 cup chopped carrot (too much carrot will sweeten the soup - don't do that!)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves chopped garlic
*dry, white wine

Directions
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and cooked chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2. Saute mushroom, carrot, onion, celery, and garlic in pan (with olive oil) until soft.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in milk, a little at a time, until full incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Add vegetables to pot. Cook over medium heat until heated through, about 10-15 minutes.
5. *Finish with a dry, white wine. (Just enough to flavor the soup).
6. Enjoy! I always serve with a sourdough baguette! Perfect for dipping into the soup.

****UPDATE: Sister has informed me that this is actually her recipe. Apologies, I didn't know you were capable of making something this delicious. I mean that in the best possible way.

Please share your soup recipes with me! I always love adding new ones to my repertoire!