# A soup for the cold weather



## ajthepoolman (Nov 29, 2007)

For those of you who tire of chili this time of year, I offer up the following soup recipe.  This was given to me years ago.  I think that this is about the best soup you can sink your spoon into.  It has won the soup competition at my work for 3 years running!

1 cup long grain wild rice (uncooked) (picture 1 is what I use)
3 - 5 strips of thick cut, raw bacon chopped (or more if desired)
1/2 to 1 medium chopped onion (again, go heavier for flavor)
2 - 10 ounce cans of Campbell's Cream of Potato Soup (condensed)
4 cups of milk (2%)
1 lb Velveeta cut into small cubes

1.  Place the potato soup in a large pot.  Dilute the potato soup by adding the 4 cups of milk.  Add the Velveeta and cook over very low heat, stirring often.

2.  Wash the wild rice in a fine mesh strainer or colander (watch for escaping grains if using the colander).  Wash the rice until the water looks clear.  Usually takes about 5 minutes of running water over it.  

3.  Put rice in a seperate pot and fill with 5 cups or more of water.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Reduce heat to a slow rolling boil and cook rice for 45 minutes.  Add more water as necessary, do not let it cook dry.  I keep my rice under water the entire time it boils cause burnt rice tastes terrible!

4.  Add chopped bacon (I used a pair of scissors to just cut it into bite size pieces) to a frying pan and cook until they start to get a little crisp but still have some chewy-ness to them.  Add the chopped onion and cook for another 5 minutes to lightly cook the onion.  Drain bacon and onion on  a paper towel.  

5.  Add the bacon and onion to the potato soup/cheese pot.

6.  After the Velveeta is mostly melted, you can add the rice to the soup (drain the rice of course!  We don't want all that water in the soup!)

7.  Let the soup cook for another 20 to 45 minutes or so under low heat.  Stir it often as the cheese will try to burn even at low temps.

I buy bread bowls from Panera here in town.  I highly recommend a sturdy sourdough bread bowl and the container.  Hollow it out and pour in the soup!

I have never made this in a dutch oven.  But I would imagine that if you can keep the temp low enough, it would be awesome.  I also have never tried putting the soup in a smoker to add smokey flavor. If you ask me, the bacon brings plenty of smokey flavor to the party.

The images below are:
the package of rice I use
the rice in the palm of my hand
the bacon and onion frying up
the soup in the pot
the soup about to be eaten in a bread bowl

Give it a try sometime.  It looks like someone puked in your pot, but the taste is awesome.  Nice balance of hickory flavor from the bacon and a tinge of onion.  Rice and potato chunks add texture.  Cheese makes it smooth!  

Enjoy!


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## cowgirl (Nov 29, 2007)

Mmmmm, that looks really good...thanks for posting the recipe!


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## hawgheaven (Nov 29, 2007)

That looks like a keeper... thanks for posting it!


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## homebrew & bbq (Nov 29, 2007)

Hmm... I've never used wild rice in a soup. I bet that adds some interesting texture. Gonna have to try this one. Thanks for sharing.


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## hillbillysmoker (Nov 29, 2007)

Looks sooooooooooo good. Thanks for sharing.


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## payson (Nov 30, 2007)

Tried this last night. Awesome! I used Bhutanese Red Rice in place of the Wild because it's all I had handy. They're very similar though so the gist of the recipe wasn't altered. The only other change I made was to add 2 smoke dried tabasco's to it while it simmered. It got rave reviews from my wife. Thanks! This recipe is a keeper!


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## ajthepoolman (Nov 30, 2007)

Glad you enjoyed it!

For those who won't try it because you don't like cheesy soups, this isn't one of them.  The Velveeta really doesn't contribute much to the flavor.  I was very hesitant to try it because I don't like cheesy soups.  Beer Cheese soup is banned in my house!  But this has so many other flavors going on that you just don't taste the cheese.


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## richoso1 (Nov 30, 2007)

Excellent selection my friend, I can see by the ingredients that it is a flavorful dish that will bring some comfort on a cold day. It's a keeper!


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