Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup by Paula Deen

mama smurf's Note:

Found this in Paula Deen's magazine "Cooking with Paula Deen". It is a little different from some I have seen and quite tasty. She uses heavy cream (of course) but I have made it with the heavy cream and also with evaporated milk which isn't as heavy. I changed the recipe to use fresh vegetables when possible and some garlic.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
• 1 (8 7/8 ounce) package whole grain brown ready rice, cooked
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• toasted sliced almonds, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, melt butter over medium high heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently or until vegetables are tender.
2. Add flour, tarragon, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add broth and cream (evaporated milk or 2% milk); cook for 10-12 minutes, or until soup is thickened. Add chicken, rice, and peas; cook for 5-6minutes or until heated through.
3. Garnish with toasted almonds, if desired.

Reviews

[Mikekey]

Yum!!! Great soup and great way to use pre-cooked ingredients. I used leftover chicken and rice from a previous meal. Really liked the addition of tarragon! I skipped the peas (don't like them in soup) and almonds. I also used fat-free half-and-half instead of heavy cream, and that worked great. Made for Fall 2011 PAC game.

[CookieMonster5366]

This soup is so good! I used some left over dark meat that I got on sale and had frozen. For just two people it makes a lot but I froze half for future dinners and ate the remainder for lunches. Paula Deen always gets it right!

[Peggy Lynn]

Outstanding!Of course since it's Paula's i had no doubt:)followed it to the letter, no changes..thanks for posting:)