Cream of Wild Rice Soup

There are certain types of food that I feel belong to specific seasons. Soup is one of those foods and I think fall and winter are perfect seasons to debut some great soup recipes. Last weekend I attended a retreat for pastors' wives and we were served this amazing chicken soup. I was thrilled to get the recipe because it is my new favorite soup. Serve it with a nice crispy popover and it will be a perfect meal for a cool evening. It's on my menu for this week--how about you? Here's to the first day of fall . . .

2 c. cooked wild rice
1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced or shredded
1 celery rib, finely diced
1 c. finely diced ham
1/2 c. butter
4 T. flour
8 c. chicken broth
1 c. cooked diced chicken
4-5 slices crisp bacon
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. light cream or half and half

Prepare the wild rice in a 4-5 quart dutch oven. Set aside. Saute' onion, carrot, celery and ham in the butter about 3 minutes or until the vegetables have softened slightly. Sift in the flour a little at a time, stirring and cooking until the flour is blended in well, but not browned. Slowly add the chicken broth stirring until all the flour/butter/vegetable mixture is blended well. Add the wild rice, cooked chicken and bacon and season to taste. Heat thoroughly. Add the cream and reheat gently, but do not boil. Yields 12 servings.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Overnight French Toast

My husband and I have recently relocated from Indiana to Kentucky (cheers for being back in the South!). We have already been blessed to have had overnight company. I love having the opportunity to share our home with others. It's so great to be able to sit down over a good meal and catch up. When friends and family come to visit, I certainly don't want to spend tons of time in the kitchen. I'm so thankful for this recipe for Overnight French toast sent to me by a fellow pastor's wife while I was in Tennessee. It can be made the night before and simply baked in the oven in the morning. I served this recently when we had our first overnight guests and served it with sausage and a fresh fruit bowl. This was my first time to make this dish but it certainly won't be my last! Do you have a favorite overnight recipe to share with me? Send it my way!

12 slices day-old French bread (I used sourdough--enough to fill a 9x13 dish)
5 eggs
2 1/2 c. milk
1 c. packed brown sugar, divided
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 c. chopped pecans
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Arrange bread in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 c. brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture. Combine butter and remaining 1/4 c. brown sugar; drizzle over the top. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.