Wild Rice Soup with Mushrooms and Chicken

Well, Virginia has certainly seen it's share of snow lately. In fact, as I am writing this, it is snowing like CRAZY outside. I guess if there is to be an upside to winter weather, it's wintry food. We had been wanting to do wild rice soup for ages, but just never seemed to get around to it. We finally did and it turned out amazing. This is an old Midwest classic and pretty easy to throw together.

2 teaspoons light butter
1 medium carrot
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
28 ounces chicken broth
1 cup wild rice, uncooked, not instant
⅓ cup flour
2 ¾ cups reduced fat milk
2 tablespoons dry sherry
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cooked and shredded or cut into chunks

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot and next 6 ingredients (through garlic); saute 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Stir in rice; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until rice is tender.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add to soup mixture. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in sherry and salt.