Creamy Mushroom and Rice soup

I had a lot of the  rice and mushroom side dish I posted earlier. My hubby's most favorite soup is cream of mushroom soup. When we were first married I didn't know how to cook that well,  so I would make the canned kind.... Funny, I never thought of just eating that like soup, thought it was strictly for casseroles. But anyway, I thought the leftovers from my mushroom rice  side dish would make a great Creamy Mushroom soup... it was delicious... Enjoy!

Creamy Mushroom and Rice soup

1/4 butter

1/4 cup flour

pinch of Thyme

fresh ground pepper

2-3 cups good chicken broth or veggie stock (depending on how thick or how much you want to make)

1 or 2 cups of half n' half  (you can use straight milk or cream but I like 1/2 n 1/2)

Left over Mushroom and Rice

Salt and pepper to taste

Make a roux by melting the butter in a soup pot or dutch oven, then add the flour and whisk into the butter; let cook for about a minute over medium heat.

Then add 2 cups of the broth while whisking. Let this cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.      

If it's too thick add another cup of broth. 

Add 1 or 2 cups of half n' half and about 2 cups of the mushroom and rice. I just ad-libbed this recipe, I added mushroom and rice till it was as thick as I wanted my soup to be. 

Let this simmer for a few minutes at a medium low heat so the rice is hot.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. I served with grilled sandwiches or a crusty french bread would be great too.

Enjoy!!