• 6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup of carrots (sliced or diced)
• 1/2 cup of diced celery
• 6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 tsp of each - thyme, rosemary, savory, celery salt, onion salt
• 1 tsp parsley (or you can use real parsley sprigs for garnish)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked rice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. * In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook butter until golden brown
2. * Saute mushrooms until tender
3. * Whisk in flour until smooth
4. * Slowly whisk in broth and cook until slightly thickened (save about 1/4 cup of broth for the end)
5. * Stir in cream, cook on high heat until just barely boiling
6. * Add meat, veggies and spices (save parsley for last)
7. * Reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes (cook for 45 minutes if using fresh veggies)
8. * Add cooked rice, heat for 5 more minutes
9. * Season with salt, pepper and parsley
10. If soup is not thick enough to your liking, add flour to the remaining 1/4 cup of broth to make a thick paste. Whisk small amounts into soup until desired thickness.
11. If soup is too thick for your liking, add remaining broth and stir well. You can add a little bit of milk as well to water it down if needed.
12. You can also make this into cream of potato soup by eliminating the meat and rice, and using 5 cups of potatoes, diced.

This is one of my favorite winter recipes to make. You can use minute rice in the bag that heats in the microwave for 90 seconds, or boil some wild rice on the stove top (follow package directions).