Mom's Wild Rice Soup.

Fall weather is here and that means soup! This is my go-to soup recipe because it's unique, easy, and it's from my mom so you know it's good. It's also forgiving and easily manipulated. When I made it yesterday I used way more rice and veggies than the recipe called for and tweaked it to how I'm feeling (read: I had two cans of cheddar cheese soup that had passed their "best by" date).

Wild rice is very hard to come by down south so I have it "imported" from family members coming to visit! If you are somewhere that doesn't have it, try a natural/organic food store that has bulk beans. Beware - it's spendy.

Here's the official recipe:

1 cup wild rice
3 cups boiling water
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 stick butter or margarine
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 4oz can sliced mushrooms
1 teasp salt
1/4 teasp pepper
1/4 teasp rosemary (VII: very important ingredient)
1 cup whipping cream

1. Add rice to boiling water, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes (until the rice is close to done).
2. Saute onion, celery, carrots and green pepper in butter/margarine. Add to wild rice.
3. Add other ingredients except for the cream. Simmer 20 minutes.
4. Stir in cream, heat thoroughly and serve. Or put in the crock pot if you are serving at a party.

Random Thoughts / Variations 
I usually end up doubling this recipe, adding more rice and veggies. Therefore I use the 32 oz carton of chicken broth and maybe three cans of soup instead of  two (this time I used two cheddar cheese and one cream of celery). And I also used one pint whipping cream plus some half & half... I make this often enough that I know how creamy I want it to be. If you solely use half & half it won't taste as good. I use big pieces of mushrooms so I can pick them out easily. And I like pure wild rice but you could use a wild/brown mix if that's all you have. And if you need there to be meat, you could add chicken. If you are going to add a lot, make sure you use a big pot!

For all you visual folks, here's my somewhat step-by-step photo instructions. The lighting in our kitchen is bleh and I was watching Eli while cooking, so apologies for the lack of inspiration in my photos. They do the job.

Boil the wild rice:

Meanwhile, chop up your carrots, onion, celery and green pepper... into very, very small pieces. You will need a chopper so it looks like this:

Saute it all in butter or margarine:

When the rice is done, drain it mostly (leave a little water). Then add the sauteed mixture (like photo below) plus all the canned items and spices (forgot to take a photo of that pre-stirred):

Stir it all up and let it simmer for awhile, at least 20 minutes:

Then add the cream! 

Stir it up and you are done!

It's creamy, wild goodness and best served with a delicious fresh baguette! Now who wants to come over and enjoy it as leftovers with me today?

-Heather