Mise en place. Verify chicken is already cooked and shredded.
In a medium pot, bring the following ingredients to a boil: 30 oz. chicken broth, water, green onion, and wild rice (including seasoning pack). Reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender, usually 25 to 30 minutes.
While that is simmering, cook bacon. Allow to cool and then crumble.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle flour and spice mixture over melted butter. Mix together until completely blended (it will be very thick).
Slowly add half-and-half in intervals (1/4-1/3 cup at a time), whisking or stirring constantly. After first addition, the mixture will thicken up even more.
Continue adding in small intervals, stirring well after each addition. It will thin as you add more liquid.
Continue to cook on medium-low and whisk until it begins to thicken again. You’ll want it at the consistency between “soft peak” and “firm peak” (if you were whipping frosting).
After sauce is thickened, stir in rice mixture. Turn up to medium and bring to a very low simmer. Cook until soup is done to desired thickness (usually an extra 5 minutes or so).
Fold in bacon and chicken. Heat through. Serve.
Notes
• Green onion- I usually use a 50/50 mix of the white part of the green onions and the actual greens. • Cooked chicken- I usually just cook a couple of chicken breasts and use, but you can also use leftover from roast chicken. Make sure the seasoning isn't too strong, though. • I usually make a double-batch. This is really good soup. Note: if you find the soup is too thick to your liking- it really is more of a stew, consistency wise, than a soup- simply whisk in extra chicken broth. As it cools, it thickens a lot. When reheating in the microwave, mix in a little chicken broth (you can substitute water if you need to) to de-thicken it a bit.