Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
2 T butter
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced or shredded
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 T flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup water
1 can (10 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups cubed chopped chicken (I used around 1.25 lbs)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook celery, carrot, onion, and bell pepper in butter about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Stir in flour and pepper. Stir in wild rice, water, and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in half-and-half, chicken, almonds and parsley. Heat just until hot. Don't boil it or it might curdle.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I used about three carrots instead of one, and didn't use any almonds at all. For the wild rice, I could NOT find any at the store, so I just bought Uncle Ben's pre-made wild rice and tossed it in there.

What I'll do differently next time:
I think I'd either lessen the vegetables or totally leave them out. I had never had chicken and wild rice soup with vegetables before, and although it was really good, I think I just prefer it without. It wasn't very salty, which is good for health reasons, but probably could have used some added to it.

Verdict:
Thumbs up. I may not make this all the time, but I'd use it again, especially to fiddle around with the ingredients.