Copycat Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

With all the 'goodies' we enjoy this month, we all need some comfort food that fills us with healthy ingredients and can be made during the week...

Here you go...you're welcome! 

I use to not enjoy soup...at all.  I avoided it like the plague.  I know we were married

several years before I ever tried my hand at making it.

I believe that was because I grew up in a very frugal household...and we had soup...A LOT!  

I needed a break...then, in 1987, when I was in the hospital recovering from 2 surgeries to remove a brain tumor (thank the good Lord it was benign)...I would watch soup commercials and my mouth would salivate!  

I couldn't wait to get home and open a can of Progresso!

But then it got even better...I began making my own soup at home...SO.MUCH.BETTER! than from the can.  

And here we are...enjoying soups often and loving them. 

I made this batch to take to a friend recovering from surgery.  Also took some muffins - which are great any time, but I especially love them with soup.  Or cheese and crackers...or a grilled cheese sandwich!  

Soups are so forgiving to make - add what you have and what you like...thicken them if you like them creamier...

Do hope you'll enjoy this one soon!  I think it could easily become a family favorite. 

COPYCAT PANERA CHICKEN & WILD RICE SOUP 

1/2 c. diced carrots
1/2 c. diced celery
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp. olive oil (or coconut oil)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 c. (32 ozs) chicken broth 
2 c. water
2 c. milk, divided
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 c. cooked chicken breasts, diced
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 sm. box (about 4 ozs) long grain & Wild Rice mix
salt & pepper to taste
chopped green onions for garnish, optional 

Place olive oil in large saucepan; add carrots, celery and onion. Allow veggies to
simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until softened.  Add garlic cloves, chicken broth and water and 1 c. milk; stir until combined.  Add pepper, oregano, and chicken; heat on med low for 15 minutes.  Whisk together remaining 1 cup of milk with 1/2 c. flour, stirring until no lumps remain.  Pour this into the soup; whisk until combined and it's getting thick.  Place the rice and seasoning packet into the soup; mix until blended.  Allow soup to simmer for 20 more minutes or until the rice is tender.  Add salt & pepper to
taste...enjoy with chopped green onions for garnish.  

Enjoy!  

Linked to 
Meal Plan Monday

You may also enjoy...

Easy Clam Chowder with Bacon (Copycat Sweet Tomatoes)

Copycat Strawberry Julius

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Flashback Friday - Soup-er Soups to Warm you (& a bonus link!)

WELCOME TO FLASHBACK FRIDAY! 

Do hope you'll enjoy one or two of these tasty soups to help take the chill off and fill your belly with goodness! 

For hubby and me, pot pies are always so comforting.  Here you can have it in soup form...sooo good!  Enjoy every slurp! 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup (with seasoned toppers)

One of the most popular recipes on my blog!  Delicious and Satisfying! Love letting my slow cooker do most of the work for me. 

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

So filling and flavorful! You'll want to make this again soon. 

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

Tasty Chicken (or Turkey) Barley Soup

(with butternut squash) 

Seasoned Buttery Crackers

Leader Enterprise - January 24, 2018 - Soups to Warm you Up

Cheesey Hamburger Soup 

Among the numerous food holidays in January, one of them is National Soup Month...so I'm happy to help you celebrate with these tasty soup recipes.  Slurp up and enjoy! 

I'm very pleased to share with you these favorite tried and true dishes that we enjoy. Trust they'll warm your tummies and fill your families. Dinner doesn’t have to be perfect or elaborate. A simple meal with your family is a weeknight gift. Enjoy it! Something I try to do on a regular basis, is cook chicken and beef for the freezer, so when I need a fast meal, it's ready to be added. I also keep chopped onions, celery and carrots in the freezer. It's a time-saver.

CHEESEY HAMBURGER SOUP 

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tb. minced garlic

1 (10.75 ozs.) can tomato soup

1 (soup) can water

2 (14 ozs.) cans beef broth

(about 2-1/2 cups)

1 sm. can corn, undrained

(or just add a cup of frozen)

1 c. uncooked pasta twists

4 - 6 ozs. Velveeta cheese, chunked

In a large skillet, brown ground beef with the onion and garlic. Season with salt & pepper (we are pepper lovers and I always use a garlic pepper from Watkins!) Drain grease. In large cooking pan, combine tomato soup, water, broth and corn (and/or beans). Add ground beef mixture and stir to combine. Heat just until it begins to boil, then add pasta. Cover pot and cook until pasta is just done (or el dente). Add Velveeta and heat on low until melted. Serve with a sandwich or salad, or even crackers and cheese, and you are ready to enjoy! 

It doesn't get much easier than this! 

BLACK & WHITE BEAN CHILI

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 (48 ozs.) jar great northern beans

2 (16 ozs..each) jars black bean and corn salsa

2 c. (16 ozs.) shredded cheddar cheese

Heat first 3 ingredients together until hot, then add cheese. Stir until melted. Serve hot alongside tortilla chips, cornbread, or a grilled cheese sandwich. 

Smoked Sausage, White Beans & Potato Chowder

SMOKED SAUSAGE, WHITE BEAN AND POTATO CHOWDER 

2-1/2 c. (low sodium) chicken broth 

3 c. potatoes, diced

(I use frozen cubed southern hash browns)

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1/2 c. carrots, diced

1-1/2 c. smoked sausage or ham, chopped

3 Tb. butter, melted

3 Tb. all purpose flour

2 c. half & half (or whole milk)

1 can (15 ozs.) northern beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 chicken bouillon cube, crushed
1 c. shredded cheese, optional

black pepper to taste

In large pot, add chicken broth, potatoes, celery, onions, carrots and smoked sausage; bring to boil and cook until veggies are tender, about 12 - 15 minutes. 

In medium saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour (a whisk works great) then add half and half a little at a time, stirring until smooth and thick. Drain some of the broth from sausage mixture, adding that to flour mixture, stirring until smooth. If using, add cheese and heat until it melts.  Slowly add that back to the pot with veggies and sausage. Add beans, bouillon and pepper.  Heat through and serve. 

I love serving these tasty crackers with any kind of soup!  If you like Ranch, substitute dry mix for the Italian seasonings. 

SEASONED BUTTERY CRACKERS

1 stick salted butter

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. dried basil

a few sprinkles garlic powder

(or substitute 1 tsp. Italian seasoning instead of all 3 spices above)

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 sleeve saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 275. 

Melt butter in saucepan and add seasonings...stir until well blended. Add saltines, 2 (or more) at a time, coating with butter mixture on both sides. Place on baking rack over a cookie sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven; cool; place in sealed bag or container. 

Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.~Maya Angelou 

Leader Enterprise - January 10, 2018 - Tips to help make right food choices

Chicken(Turkey) Barley Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Welcome 2018! (Can we even believe it??) If you're anything like me, I felt I had to clear the kitchen of anything unhealthy to eat so I won't be tempted by it before I begin my healthy eating program in January.  EEK! Here's to a happy and healthy new year!

I so appreciate thoughts like these, found at www.sparkpeople.com that give me something concrete to wrap my mind around when trying to eat healthier. Enlisting some of these ideas into our daily lives, one change at a time, will help jump-start our healthy New Year's Resolutions.

Eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal. If half a plate of fruits and vegetables seems like an overwhelming goal for you right now, start by simply adding one fruit or veggie to each meal. You can eat them as a side -- think a cup of green beans with dinner or an orange with breakfast -- or simply start adding them to foods you already eat. Fruit is a cinch to add to oatmeal, yogurt and cereal in the morning.  Drink up. While you should limit the number of calories you get from beverages, if you have trouble fitting fruits and vegetables into your busy life, work them into a drink that you can take on the go. Try out smoothie recipes until you find a few you love and work them into your rotation as a breakfast or afternoon snack option. You can easily get several fruit and vegetable servings in a yummy beverage.   Slurp some soup! Soups and stews can be a nutritious, filling way to get lots of vegetables into a meal. Soup is an easy way to increase the variety of veggies you eat as it can make some of your least favorite options more palatable.  Keep them in sight, in mind. Just like you keep sweets out of sight to discourage incessant snacking, keeping fruits and veggies in sight will help you think of them as an option for eating. Stock a fruit bowl at work each week and keep a bowl on the kitchen counter at home so you’ll be more likely to eat it when you’re hungry.  My husband and I love this delicious soup from the Skinny Kitchen website. It makes a large batch, but it freezes well. You can easily cut the recipe in half.  TURKEY BARLEY SOUP WITH SWEET POTATOES 10 c. (reduced-sodium) chicken broth 1 c. dried pearl barley (I use quick) 1 tsp. olive oil 2 cloves fresh garlic,minced 1-1/2 c. carrots, sliced 1-1/2 c. celery, sliced 1-1/2 c. onions, chopped 2-1/2 c. sweet potatoes (or butternut squash), peeled and chopped  1/2 tsp. dried thyme 1/2 tsp. dried sage Fresh ground pepper, to taste 1 lb. cooked turkey breasts or chicken, cubed In a large pot, add the chicken broth and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, in a nonstick pan add the olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery and onions; sauté until soft,about 5 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables to the broth. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, thyme, sage and fresh ground pepper. Continue to cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Add the cooked turkey and stir with a rubber spatula so the squash doesn’t get mushy. Cook for 5 minutes more. Yield: 12 cups. 1 cup= 142 calories; 1 gr.fat, 13 gr.protein, 22 gr.carbs, 5 gr.fiber Blueberry Banana Flaxseed Smoothie BLUEBERRY BANANA FLAXSEED SMOOTHIE 2 TB. flax seed meal 1 ripe banana (frozen slices are great) 1 c. blueberries 1/2 c. (fat free) Greek Yogurt 1 c. (skim) milk 1 TB. honey 1/4 tsp. almond extract 6 chopped ice cubes Add all ingredients and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.  Yield: 2 servings. Garnish with blueberries.  STUFFED PEPPERONI PIZZA MELT 1 (whole wheat) Deli Sandwich Thin 1 tsp. Smart Balance Light or reduced-fat butter 1-1/2 Tb. pizza or marinara sauce 7 slices Hormel’s 70% less fat turkey pepperoni 1 slice light provolone cheese or light mozzarella Preheat Panini maker, George Foreman grill or stove-top skillet. Spread the outside of the sandwich thin, both top and bottom, with 1/2 teaspoon of butter on each. Split open and spread the inside of the bottom slice with pizza sauce. On top of sauce, place pepperoni slices and top with 1 slice of cheese. Place remaining top piece of sandwich thin, butter side out. Place in preheated grill or skillet; cook for 4 to 5 minutes until melted and golden brown. Remove with a spatula as the cheese oozes out a bit while cooking. De-Lish! Yield: 1 serving= 215 calories, 8 gr. fat, 14 gr. protein, 26 gr. carbs, 6 gr. fiber Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. ~Abraham Lincoln