The Surest Sign of Fall

The weather has cooled off around here. It's a nice change from the 90 degree temperatures we were experiencing even into the end of September. After changing leaves and football season, the surest sign of fall at Chez Ganey is dining on hearty soups. I love soup. It's easy, can be relatively inexpensive, and tastes so yummy. Oh, and you can often enjoy soup for days after your initial meal. What's not to love? I had me at leftovers.

The latest offering on the menu here was Creamy Chicken Noodle and Wild Rice Soup served in bread bowls. This one pleases my whole family.


Okay. You got me. Not Mary. She will not partake of the soup, but she is happy to make herself a sandwich out of the bread bowl. Er, the one lump of bread that I don't cut into a bread bowl, that is.

But everyone else? They are in Soup Nirvana.

And because I would like you, too, to be in Soup Nirvana, I will share the recipe.

Creamy Chicken Noodle & Wild Rice Soup
10 c. (80 oz.) chicken broth, reserve 1 cup
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 (12 oz.) package Reames frozen egg noodles
1 (6.2 oz.) box of 5 minute long grain and wild rice*
1/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 c. half-and-half
2 c. diced, cooked chicken
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onion**

In a large pan or Dutch oven, combine 9 cups of the chicken broth and chopped onion. Bring to boiling. Add the noodles, return to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes (or until noodles are desired tenderness). Add rice and seasoning packet, cook for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile , in a small bowl, stir together the 1 cup of reserved chicken broth, flour, salt, pepper, and seasoning; stir until smooth. Slowly add flour and broth mixture to cooked noodle and rice mixture, stirring constantly. Bring to boiling; cook 1 minute or until thickened and bubbly. Slowly add half-and-half to cooked noodle mixture, stirring constantly. Add chicken; heat gently, stirring frequently until heated through. Stir in green onion before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.
*I use the Uncle Ben's 90 second microwavable pouch and it works great.
** In our family, green onions are always optional. Meaning, most of the time my family opts not to have them. I am sure that it's wonderful with green onions, but I cannot tell you for sure, as I've never included them in this soup.

We like to eat these out of bread bowls that I make using frozen bread dough. Although, my beloved eats his from a regular bowl with his bread on the side because he is difficult a purist who wants to eat more of this soup than a bread bowl will hold.

And because I was feeling particularly autumn-ish, I also made apple dumplings. Guess who didn't have to clear the table after this meal? That's right. It was all so yummy, everyone else willing cleared off the table because they thought I had worked so hard to serve them such a delicious meal. Well, they were half right. I had served them a delicious meal. Ahem.

I keep telling you people that I am a giver. Now do you believe me? Enjoy!