Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup with Cheddar Toasts

My plans for tonight were ruined by the snow, the band was supposed to have a pizza party to celebrate the end of the season, but now its been rescheduled for next week. Because of that, I had the night off, and had to figure out what to make for dinner. I thought it would be a nice night for soup, and I had a few recipes that I'd saved from various Pillsbury e-newsletters that I've wanted to try. I ran the selection by Tom, and he chose the Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup.

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup with Cheddar Toasts

Ingredients

• 1 package Pillsbury™ refrigerated crusty French loaf
• 20 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 package (8 oz) mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 pouch (8.8 oz) cooked long grain & wild rice
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 11/2 cups Progresso™ reduced sodium chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Place loaf on cookie sheet; make three diagonal cuts with serrated knife. Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until browned.
2. Meanwhile, spray 5-quart Dutch oven with cooking spray. Cook chicken in Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to plate, and set aside.
3. Add mushrooms to Dutch oven; cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deep brown.
4. Heat rice as directed on pouch.
5. Add chicken, rice, half-and-half and broth to Dutch oven; heat to simmering. Reduce heat to low; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Cover and keep warm over low heat while bread finishes baking.
6. When bread is cool enough to handle, cut into 12 slices, and return to cookie sheet. Divide 1/2 cup of the cheese among the slices. Bake 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese melts.
7. Remove soup from heat, and stir in remaining cheese until melted. Divide soup among 4 large bowls. Top each with 3 slices of the cheesy bread.

Well, Tom didn't try it. He said he'd eat some at a later date, but I thought it was tasty. Unfortunately, I'd left it on the stove for too long, and it wasn't very soupy, but the flavor was still there. If I get any of the leftovers, I'll add some more chicken stock and half-and half before warming it up, just to juice it up!