Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I've been sick the last few days and wanted chicken soup...as per my usual, I altered a recipe I found to suit my needs.  It tasted really good and was a great comfort soup for when I was feeling really sick!  Hope you like it as much as I did!

 

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts or 4 Chicken Thighs 
4 cups Water 
4 cups Chicken Broth 
4 Carrots - cut (I bought the pre-crinkle cut ones)
4 stalks Celery - cut 
1 can Diced Tomatoes 
1 package quick cooking Long Grain and Wild Rice with seasoning packet 
Salt & Pepper 
3/4 cup Flour 
1/2 cup Butter 
2 cups Heavy Cream 

Directions:

Boil chicken in 4 cups of water - add salt, pepper, garlic, onion, garlic powder and chicken bouillon until almost cooked. After it boils for a bit, I lower the heat to control the cooking. 

Pull chicken out and put in carrots and celery. Add the chicken broth. 

Cut chicken into bite size pieces or do what I do and take two forks and pull it apart - put back in soup. Bring to a boil, stir in rice (leaving seasoning packet out), cover and turn off heat. 

In a small bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and stir in seasoning packet until mixed and bubbly, reduce heat to low and start mixing in the flour mixture little by little to form a roux. Slowly whisk in heavy cream little by little until mixed and smooth. Cook until thickened - about 5 minutes. 

Add cream mixture into soup pot and bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat and cook for about 15 minutes - stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom.