Wild Rice Soup

I first ate this at my friend, Julie's, sister's house. It is definitely a comfort food on a cold winter night. This is a vegetarian meal for us when I leave out the chicken (Its not really with the chicken broth...you could substitute vegetable broth to make it truly vegetarian.). This is a good soup made the day before and reheated later. I like to make this when I'm puttering around the house on a snowy day.

Wild Rice Soup:
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
9 cups chicken broth (I like Pacific Foods broth)
1 1/2 cups wild rice
1 1/2 cups white rice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup fat free evaporated milk OR 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed OR 1 can Costco or Sam's chicken (optional)
Rinse the wild rice. Bring 8 cups of chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the wild rice, bring back to a boil, stir, and cover. Turn down to a simmer and cook 30 minutes. Add the white rice to the pan. Stir once, cover and simmer another 20 minutes. In a separate pan, saute the carrots, onion, and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the flour until blended. Gradually add 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir in the rice and whatever broth is left in the pan. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the evaporated milk or cream. If using milk, cook 3-5 minutes longer. If using cream, remove pan from heat and stir in. Serve hot.