Sunday Soup

I love to make a hearty chili, soup or pasta on Sundays in the Fall. It's become a weekend ritual of mine. Plus the leftovers mean I don't have to think about dinner one night during the week. As I was going through recipes this morning I stumbled across this recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray that peaked my interest.

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup -

Cooking stains and all

The "creamy" hooked me as I love anything cream based. Cream, salt, bread, cheese - those are the ingredients that get me every time. The only ingredient that was missing was pasta... but it would be a good substitute to the wild rice. Maybe next time.

I'm not a huge Rachael Ray fan, but this recipe was so easy and delicious I thought I'd share it.

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

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Serves 6

Prep - 20 minutes (plus soaking)

Cook - 35 minutes

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1 ounce dried mushrooms any variety ( I used shitake)

6 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Salt and pepper

One 6 ounce box long grain and wild rice mix (I added some of the seasoning from a chicken flavored one)

3/4 pound white mushrooms, sliced

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast (I used a roasted chicken from Costco)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Using a food processor, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of chicken broth for 10 minutes. Process until coarsely chopped.

2. In large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heart. Add the carrots, onion and sage and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rehydrated mushroom mixture and cook for about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir in the remaining 5 cups of broth, the rice mix and the sliced mushrooms and bring to a boil. I added the already cooked chicken and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. (But if you want you can add a piece of chicken and let it cook for about 25 minutes, remove it and shred it and then return it to the pot.) Stir in the heavy cream; season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.

That's it. So simple, hearty and delicious.

Simmering

Served up and ready to eat with a big crusty piece of bread and a salad.

Great, easy meal. It will reduce down so you may need to add a little more chicken broth but otherwise it's fail proof. Maybe I'll try Rachael Ray again sometime.

Hope you had a great weekend.