Wild Rice Soup

2/3 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed
1 cup finely grated potatoes (I nuked for about 5 minutes and shredded to save cooking time)
1 medium onion, minced
2 cups water
2 T butter
1 quart milk
2 T flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper *** Note, I used Mostly Spice instead of salt and pepper
1 tsp parsley flakes
8 oz processed cheese, such as Velveeta (I used Velveeta)
10 strips bacon, browned, drained and crumbled (I used REAL bacon bits instead)

Directions:

1st: 2/3 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed ( I didn't rinse). Cover wild rice with water in a medium-size saucepan. Simmer over low heat about 40 minutes until rice is barely tender, taking care not to overcook. Drain and set aside.

2nd: In the mean time (I waited until rice was done, but should have done this wile rice was cooking to save time)

Combine 2 cups water, 2T butter in soup kettle. Add grated potatoes *** and minced onions. Reserve 1/2 cup milk and pour remaining milk into soup kettle. Stir often to avoid scorching. Add flour to remaining milk and stir into kettle until soup is creamy and smooth in texture. Season with salt and pepper (I, again, used Mostly Spice, of course). Stir in rice, parsley flakes, cheese and bacon (I also added 2 chicken breasts -- cooked (boiled) and some extra cheddar/jack cheese grated). Heat until cheese melts.

This is wonderful! Jim isn't a particularly big soup person and he went back for seconds.

*** Did you know you can take a nuked potatoes (skin left on) and shred it and the skin comes off as you shred it and it saves peeling and all? I learned that from Ethel at the restaurant in Williams when I first moved here and worked for her and she was teaching me to cook -- restaurant style.