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Friday, November 28, 2014

Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup


I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you were able to spend it with those you love!  As we get ready for the busy and festive Christmas season, I thought you might enjoy this soup on a cold night to warm you up.  

This recipe comes from my friend, Becky.  She sent my husband home with a big jar of it around this time last year when I had my third baby.  I was so excited for some fresh homemade soup when we got home from the hospital!  And I may or may not have hid the leftovers for my lunch! Talk about yum! There is something about this soup that just reminds me of home, comfort, love, and I don't know, I can't nail it, but something sentimental. I couldn't get enough.  This is comfort food to me! And it's and it's loaded with all sorts of good nutrition. That's a win-win for me. Thanks for the great recipe, Becky!

I have had a serious mushroom obsession lately!  I can't get enough! Seriously though! It's crazy to me that I love them so much because I didn't' really like them as a kid.  There are so many things I love to eat them in, stroganoff, an omelet, on pizza, in salad, fried in butter, and especially in soup.  My mouth is watering!

You have to admit that mushrooms are pretty weird looking, maybe that's why some kids don't like them.  My 4 year old always sees them and says "ewww".  However, she really loves to help me cook and she did all the stirring while we made this soup. She was so proud of her self as she cooked the onion, garlic, and celery til it was tender and yummy. She kept saying, "it's smelling good, mom, what does it smell like?"  We both love garlic.Then she saw me cutting up mushrooms and more mushrooms and even more mushrooms.  I dice them pretty small since I like them that way and becasue I think they are better disguised that way from certain 4 year olds. And she loved this soup, and there were no comments about mushrooms while she ate. She just gobbled it up, so did my one year old! It was a success! I love it when the kids gobble up dinner.  It makes my life happy! No whining at the dinner table is my favorite!

I hope you enjoy this soup too!  I'll be sharing some more mushroom favorites in the future! 

Stay tuned!
-Lu

Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup

Printable Version {Click Here}

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
½-1 yellow onion, diced fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 ribs of celery, diced fine
4 carrots, finely chopped or grated (I like grated, easier to eat for the my 1 year old, and I like little chunks)
1 teaspoon thyme
16 ounces mushrooms, chopped (I chop them fine so my 4 year old doesn’t say “eww”, and then she eats them)
½ cup wild/brown rice mix
5 cups chicken stock (or water mixed with 5 teaspoons chicken base or 5 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup half and half (with 2 tablespoons cornstarch for thickening if needed, I haven’t need it)
2-3 tablespoons butter (optional)

Directions:

In a large stock pot melt butter over medium heat and add onions, garlic, celery, carrots and thyme.  Cook for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally until they are soft, add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and cooked well.

Add chicken broth, water and rice.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat until you have a gentle simmer. Simmer at least one hour, until rice is cooked (but you can for a few if you want to start early), adding more liquid if desired, to reach create the desired consistency.  

Just before you are ready to eat add 1 cup of half and half  (you can mix in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the cold half and half before adding if you want to thicken the soup, I haven’t needed to do this) to the soup and mix. Bring it to a gentle simmer again until it’s as thick as you want.  Add salt and pepper to taste - and if you didn’t use butter to cook the vegetables stir in a few tablespoons to add a rich flavor.  

Serve hot and enjoy!  

Recipe Source:

Slightly adapted from my good friend, Becky N.



5 comments:

  1. I really wanna make healthy meals for my family but I cook quite bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A lot of our recipes are pretty easy and practice makes perfect, right? Good luck! :)

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  2. This looks so delicious. I will definitely give it a try, what do you think? :)

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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