Before I get to the promised famous chili recipe, I thought I'd make something else that's a tradition in my family. Though it is a Christmas Eve tradition, Clark and I are moving it to New Year's Eve this year since we partook in his family's Christmas traditions.

Some people think Wild Rice Soup is a required taste. I have personally always loved it and looked forward to the smell of it filling my nostrils Christmas Eve. I'm not sure how to explain the taste, other than there's a celery-onion-creamy-chicken base filled with wild rice and tastes even better if you add bacon bits when you serve it.

I know. That doesn't help much. If you're up for trying new things, I would suggest making this recipe. It is wonderful to make for company because it's easy to make the recipe larger, but try it on your own first so you can make sure you can gush about it appropriately!

Supplies:

- 1 medium white onion

- 4 stalks of celery

- 1 green pepper

- 3 TBLSP olive oil

- 1/3 C flour

- 8 C of hot water + chicken bouillon (or 8 C of chicken broth)

- 1 bag of Uncle Ben's (or any other brand) Wild Rice Soup (the bag is easy because you can stick it in the microwave to cook it right before you need it. If you get the box or what have you, make sure to have sufficient time to cook it!)

- 1 TBLSP parsley

- 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

- Chop up the green pepper, onion, and celery. You can either puree these in a food processor with the olive oil to make the soup thicker, or you can chop up the veggies extraordinarily finely.
This time I chopped it up, only because my food processor is broken, but normally I would puree it.

- Sautee your veggies, whichever way you've prepared them, in a deep pot. Cook them for about two to three minutes, then add the flour. Mix this thoroughly until there are no separate clumps.

- Add the water or chicken broth. Cook on Medium to Medium-High heat and mix constantly until it thickens. You do not want the soup to clump.

- Once the mix has come to a slow boil, add the cooked rice. Mix this consistently, then add the pepper and parsley.

- Turn the soup on low, cover it, and let it simmer for around twenty minutes. Make sure to check on it and stir it as many times as possible.