Creamy Chicken and Olive Soup

An olive lover's dream. This is adapted from a recipe from Crescent Dragonwagon's Soup and Bread cookbook. I have made several small changes. If you like this recipe, I strongly recommend that you purchase the cookbook. It is full of great comfort food!

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4  cups water
• 3 -4  boneless skinless chicken breasts (fat trimmed off)
• 2  teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1⁄4 cup  instant minced onion
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  dried Italian herb seasoning
• 3  chicken bouillon cubes
• 1  cup dry white wine (I use Chardonnay)
• 4  tablespoons butter
• 1  onion, diced
• 1  carrot, diced
• 1  celery, diced
• 5  tablespoons flour
• 1⁄2 cup  frozen peas, mostly thawed
• 1 1⁄2 cups half-and-half
• 1⁄2 cup cooked rice
• 1⁄4 cup black olives, sliced into rounds
• 1⁄4 cup  pimento stuffed olive, sliced into rounds
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•  fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Put the water in a large soup pot.
2. Add the poultry seasoning, dried onions, thyme, Italian herbs, and chicken breasts.
3. Boil the chicken until it is done and no pink remains, covered so that not much liquid evaporates.
4. Turn off heat.
5. Remove chicken breasts from the pot.
6. Allow to cool and then cut into chunks.
7. Drop the bouillion cubes in the soup pot and add the wine.
8. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer while you proceed.
9. Saute the onions in the butter in a saucepan for 5 minutes.
10. Add the celery and carrot and saute another 5 minutes.
11. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes over low heat.
12. Add a ladle of the stock to the vegetables and stir it around to get all the flour mixture free from the bottom of the pan.
13. Pour the veggies into the soup pot.
14. Let barely simmer for 20 minutes.
15. Add the half and half, chicken, peas, rice, and olives.
16. Allow to just heat through.
17. Taste the soup and add salt, pepper, and parsley until it is to your liking.