Creamy Turkey & Rice Soup

Now that it's officially turkey month, I've been on the lookout for some new recipes that will use up any Thanksgiving leftovers we might have. Of course, that's assuming there will be leftovers, but just in case, I need to be prepared.

Leftover turkey without a way to use it is the equivalent of Ben without Jerry, chips without dip, movies without popcorn, books without pages...wait, forget about that last one, Amazon already did that. But you get it, right?

Recently I attended a Pampered Chef party where Turkey & Wild Rice soup was one of the featured foods. As a turkey farmer (ha!) and food connoisseur, I feel I am qualified to give an opinion on this very special soup.

IT WAS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!!!!

~describing any quality that is so indescribable that you have no real word to say it with~

I should be a food critic because I know what I like. And I can spell big words like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I also know what I don't like, so this recipe that I'm sharing is my version of the Pampered Chef soup. Even though the original was good enough to bring out my inner Julie Andrews (or is it my inner Dick Van Dyke?), I needed to change a few ingredients to make it more whole foods friendly. And because I have 2 huge cabinets full of spices, I added a few of those too.

Because that's how I roll.☺ (Mmmm...rolls.)

~Creamy Turkey & Rice Soup~

adapted from a Pampered Chef recipe

~The Players~

2 large carrots, shredded

8 oz. package of fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 Tb. unsalted butter

1 cup soft wheat pastry flour

8 cups chicken stock

2 cups whole milk (or half & half)

4 cups cooked blend of wild & whole grain brown rices (I used Lundberg Wild Blend)

2 cups diced cooked turkey (I used more!)

1 t. dried tarragon

1/2 t. dried thyme

fresh ground pepper, to taste

sea salt, to taste (This will depend on the broth/stock used. Taste first!)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Melt butter in bottom of a dutch oven or large soup pot. Add carrots, mushrooms, celery, and onion; cook 5-6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Stir in flour. Gradually add stock, and milk, whisking until blended. Add tarragon and thyme. Bring to a soft boil. Stir in cooked rice and turkey. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 5 minutes.

While soup simmers, toast slivered almonds in an oven or a cast iron pan on the stove. Just toast until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Watch closely because they will burn quickly! (Or so I've heard...) Stir almonds into soup just before serving.

Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

*Unless you're allergic to nuts, the almonds make this soup extra special. You'll have to trust me on this one!☺